Second Chance
by x FallingAshes x
Summary: The battle with Gaea is over. Now, something else, something they thought they were done with, is rising again. And Percy Jackson is dead. But the Fates have something different in mind. They give him a new life, a new identity-a second chance to save his friends, his home, and the gray-eyed girl that he loves.
1. Prologue

So this was it. This was the end, the final sacrifice. I felt like laughing, even though I was bloodied and bruised and about to be dead.

I was Percy Jackson, the Hero of Olympus. But really, had I ever asked to be a hero? Heroes never get happy endings. I'd known that all along, been told that over and over again, but still, somehow I had hoped that I would be different. That I would be the exception.

And Annabeth would have to die too, right alongside me.

She turned around and managed a weak smile at me, and it hurt me to see that she was still trying to comfort me through her pain.

"Hmm, which one of you would like to be first?" Gaea's voice boomed from everywhere, making the ground beneath my feet rumble.

We-Annabeth and I, the lucky two-were tied at a stone altar, Gaea's half-formed body standing in front of us. She looked oddly ordinary in a human body, but there was something about that earth-colored hair and those ancient, deep green eyes that made her radiate power. Her lower half was buried beneath the ground, like she was a corpse, slowly pulling her way out of her grave.

"Now, now," Gaea's laugh was like the rustling of wind through grass. "Don't be shy. How about you, Annabeth? Would you like to go first?"

Annabeth's eyes burnt defiantly. "Do I really have a choice?"

"No, you're right, little hero." Gaea smiled warmly. "You do not. Both of you will die. It does not matter what order. Then, I will rise, and the world will be mine once again, instead of being ruled by that _foolish _sky God, Zeus."

Gaea held her knife-a knife molded from the Earth-up against Annabeth's throat. She swallowed against the blade.

But no. I would not let Annabeth die.

Gaea had made one mistake. The stone altar was backing the sea, and I could feel the waves giving me power. Gaea might be Mother Earth, but she had no power against the ocean. Clenching my teeth, I threw everything I had left into the water, and I could feel it rising up behind me, following my will.

Annabeth met my eyes. _I love you, Seaweed brain, _she mouthed.

"Goodbye, Daughter of Athena." Gaea pressed her knife into Annabeth's throat.

"No!" My voice came out as a roar, and then the ocean was crashing down around us.

Gaea gasped, rearing back as the wave slammed into her. It beat against her, and then she was sinking into the ground once more. "No! _NO!"_

The water thundered and the sky went dark, wind whirling around us and blowing my black hair into my eyes. The line from the prophecy echoed in my head. _To storm or fire the world must fall. _Gaea was the world. And she was falling to storm.

"Percy!" Annabeth screamed. The water crashed down around her, but she was perfectly safe, perfectly fine, in her own little bubble, not a single drop hitting her body. "Watch out!"

I turned, but it was too late. Gaea had somehow managed to drag herself over to me, and there was nothing left of her but her head and a single arm, raised above her hand, tightly gripping her knife.

"Goodbye, sea spawn." Gaea's green eyes bore holes into mine, and even though she had lost, she was smiling.

"Percy!" Annabeth's scream was desperate.

With a laugh, Gaea plunged her knife straight into my heart.

* * *

_One second I was being stabbed, and the next, I was sinking. Sinking down, down, down into the ground. I felt oddly disoriented and lightheaded, as if this was all just a dream._

_Then I was at a river, and its surface was like a mirror, reflecting back moments from my life. I saw my mom, baking me blue cookies and laughing, her eyes crinkling around the edges. I saw my first day at camp, the first time I saw Annabeth, our first kiss in the lake. I frowned. Annabeth. Where was she?_

_"Hey. You there."_

_I looked up, mildly startled. A black, hooded figure paddled towards me on a boat._

_"Who are you?" My voice sounded hollow, like an echo._

_"What, Percy Jackson?" The figure snorted. "Forgotten me already? Serves me right. You demigods can't be trusted. You promised me a pay raise. It never came."_

_"I don't know what you're talking about. Can I please go back now? I need to find Annabeth."_

_The guy laughed. "The names Charon. Extremely underpaid transporter of souls. And I'm afraid there's no going back now. This time, Percy Jackson, you appear to actually be dead."_

_Dead? And that's when it all hit me. I was at the River Styx, in the Underworld. I was dead. Gaea had killed me._

_"No! I can't be dead! You have to let me go back! What about all my friends? Annabeth. Grover. And Jason and Piper and Frank and Ha-"_

_"Come along now, Perseus." Charon interrupted, sounding mildly annoyed. "I'm sure you'll have a nice eternity in Elysium. Or rebirth. Whatever you choose. Now, hand me your drachma so we can get going."_

_"I don't have a drachma," I snapped._

_Charon tusked. "No drachma, no passage."_

_Before I could open my mouth to call Charon some names that I probably shouldn't repeat, a thick, black mist swirled up from the River Styx._

_Charon's eyes widened. "Well, then. I guess I should be going now. Looks like you won't be needing my services today, Percy Jackson."_

_"Charon!" I called after him, but he was already paddling away hurriedly. "Charon!"_

_"There's no need to call him, hero." An ancient voice rasped._

_I turned. Three old hags in rocking chairs sat there, eyeing me like I was a lab specimen. The Fates._

_"What do you want?" I was annoyed. These were the people that had decided my death._

_"To fulfill the prophecy," The middle one hissed. They reminded me of the oracle, old and rotting but still filled with power. Well, the old oracle. Rachel wasn't old and rotting._

_With a shaking hand, the middle one held up a blue thread, the end snipped off cleanly._

_"_An oath to keep with a final breath," _The one on the right recited._

"And foes bear arms to the doors of death," _The left one finished._

_"It is not over yet," The middle one said. "Your Foes are not yet defeated. Only you, the Hero of Olympus, can save them all."_

_"What?" My lightheadedness made everything seem stupid and insignificant._

_"We are giving you a new life. A whole new identity. You will no longer be Percy Jackson, not until you can discover yourself again."_

_"Why? Why do I have to live again?"_

_"Your oath." The right one said gravely. "To Annabeth. You promised her you'd always be together."_

"An oath to keep with a final breath," _The one on the left reminded me._

_Annabeth's name sobered me up a bit. I had to live. For Annabeth._

_The middle one held up a wrinkled finger to the thread, and instantly, it reconnected, weaving itself back together. It glowed under the Fate's touch, a warm yellow light that lit up the gloomy Underworld._

_Then, suddenly, I was floating up, back the way I'd came._

_"We are giving you a second chance, Perseus Jackson." Her raspy voice already sounded far away. "Do not waste it."_

* * *

**Yes, I know, this was a very long prologue.**

**But hey, I had to fit everything in.**

**Anyways, this is technically my first story(not really). The first one on this account, anyways. I update fast, I promise. As long as you guys review.**

**~BurningAngel**


	2. Chapter 1

**So. Told you I updated fast. It's only been a few hours. :)**

**Anyways, I forgot to do the disclaimer last chapter, so here it is.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO. *cries tears of sadness***

* * *

_Chance Johnson. Chance Johnson. Chance Johnson._

I wrote my name over and over again in the sand of the beach, watching as the waves came and swept it away. My name was the only thing I had left, the only thing I could remember about myself. Well, other than the girl. That's what I'd come to call her, the girl with the curly blonde hair and stormy gray eyes that haunted my dreams.

It was exactly one year today. Exactly one year since I'd woken up, right here on this beach, my past a total blank. A whole year of surviving on the streets and being chased by monsters that nobody else seemed to see. Monsters from Greek Mythology. They were real, and so were the Gods. I didn't know how I knew this. I just did.

I always had this odd feeling in the pit of my stomach, like there was something I was supposed to be doing, someone I had to find. But really, that was stupid. I didn't even know who I was supposed to be looking for, and even if I did, I would never find them, not in huge, bustling New York City.

A huge shadow fell over me.

I jumped up immediately, stiffening, getting ready to run into the ocean, away from whatever monster was waiting for me. I whirled around and around, but there was nobody there, other than a few mortals having a nice family picnic.

A pegasus touched down just a few feet away from me, two girls on its back. The mortals laughed and pointed to the winged horse, as if it was some sort of novelty item. The girls on its back obviously hadn't spotted me yet, because they were looking around the beach, their eyes squinted, as if searching for something.

I cursed quietly, then dove into the water, paddling away from the shore and into the deeper area. The girls didn't look like monsters. But then again, none of them did. The only place I was safe was in the water, as I had learned. It gave me power.

I submerged myself just barely, so that my head was underwater, but I could still clearly see the girls. They dismounted off of the pegasus, and the one with a face to rival a model's spoke. "Huh. I don't know about you, Hazel, but I don't see anyone."

The dark-skinned one, Hazel, frowned. "Well, Jason and Frank wouldn't lie, now would they? They said that there was a half-blood down here, at the beach."

"Maybe they were hallucinating," The model girl suggested. "They must have been pretty tired, coming back from their quest. Because I sure don't see anyone here."

"Maybe there was someone here, but then they left." Hazel said speculatively.

"Well, the point is, they're gone now." The model girl sighed. "We came all this way for nothing. What are we going to tell Chiron?"

"Let's stay for a bit, Piper." Hazel looked around, as if still expecting whoever they were looking for to pop out of nowhere. "Maybe they'll come back."

"Well, it _is _a pretty nice day...and we rarely get to get away from camp." Piper smiled tiredly. "Getting tired of all the sadness there."

"Definitely," Hazel agreed.

The two of them made like they were about to sit down, but just then, a lady who had been sitting among the mortals headed towards them. The lady was wearing a green shirt and snakeskin pants, her eyes a weird yellowish brown.

"Excuse me, girls." The lady said to them. "But this is a private beach."

Private? That was nonsense. I had been hanging around here for a year, and nobody ever told me that it was private.

"Oh!" Hazel hopped up. "I'm so sorry, ma'am. We'll be going immediately."

"No, no, it's okay." The lady laughed. "You can stay for a while. I hardly ever get visitors."

"Um," Piper shared a confused glance with Hazel. "So, we don't have to leave?"

"Oh, definitely not." The lady's voice was growing weird, almost turning into a hiss. "Stay as long as you want. Maybe even _forever._"

The word forever came out in a barely audible hiss. Piper and Hazel backed up, heading for their pegasus.

"Don't leave, my pretty heroes," The lady's eyes flashed brilliant yellow, her pupils turning into slits. "Stay here and play."

At this, Piper and Hazel whirled around, dashing madly for their winged horse. The lady laughed, a weird rattling noise, and then she wasn't a lady anymore. Her legs seemed to absorb her snakeskin pants, and her hair turned into dozens of tiny snakes, hissing atop her head. She threw a spear, and it barely missed the pegasus, who whinnied with fear and shot up, leaving Hazel and Piper behind.

Hazel turned around, cursing, pulling out a bronze sword that glinted in the sunlight. The mortals cheered and clapped. I wondered what was wrong with them. Piper barely spared them a glance, and then she was pulling out a dagger, its surface as shiny as a mirror.

"Dracaena." Both girls stared at the monster, waiting.

It laughed at them. "Piper McClean and Hazel Levesque. Part of the Prophecy of Seven and Heroes of Olympus. What a pleasure it will be to kill you."

"We'd like to see you try." Piper's voice was a growl.

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be easy. After all, you weren't the ones who defeated Gaea, now were you?" The dracaena smiled. "It was...oh, forgive my rudeness. He's dead."

At this, Piper roared with fury, and then she was charging the monster, which wasn't a smart idea, considering it had another spear and she only had a dagger. Hazel's eyes widened, but she had no choice but to charge as well. Their weapons clashed, but it was an uneven fight. It wasn't long before the dracaena had its spear at Piper's throat, her dagger buried in the sand.

"Katoptris," The monster sneered. "Useless. And you. Hazel. Drop your sword."

Keeping her eyes on Piper, Hazel let her sword fall into the sand.

"Good girl." The dracaena nodded approvingly. "And now for your obedience, I will make sure your deaths are quick and painless."

The monster pressed its spear point into Piper's throat. She gasped, blood trickling out. The mortals screamed and a few of them pulled out their cell phones, probably calling the police.

I had the oddest feeling of deja vu, like this had all happened before, like watching a evil monster press its weapon against a girl's throat was something I saw everyday. Somehow, though, I knew that Piper and Hazel were on the good side. The dracaena, not so much. And if I didn't do something soon, Piper would be dead.

Summoning my energy, I swirled the sea water up above my head, something that I had found out I could do a while ago. Hazel's jaw dropped in shock, watching the water swirl up. With a grunt, I released the massive wave, making an air bubble around Hazel and Piper. The wave smashed into the dracaena, and it screeched with fury, dropping its spear.

Quick as a flash, Hazel picked up her sword and slashed it across the dracaena's chest. It dissolved slowly, turning into sand that matched the color of the beach. "You'll all die," It hissed. "Every single one of you. Kronos and Gaea are rising again, together this time, and when they do, you will all be doomed."

On that cheery note, it vaporized. Hazel and Piper looked at each other for a second, then turned to me. I walked out of the ocean slowly, completely dry.

"So." Piper looked at me. "You must be the half-blood we're looking for."

"Child of Poseidon, it seems." Hazel noted.

"Did you do that thing with the water?"

I nodded. Hazel and Piper shared a meaningful look.

"Yeah. Definitely a Poseidon kid." Hazel said. "He looks just like..." she trailed off, her eyes tightening.

"Like somebody we used to know." Piper finished for her.

"There's another Poseidon kid?" This conversation didn't feel weird to me at all, and the words came of their own accord, as if I had known this information all along. For once, I was glad to meet some people like me. "So I have a sibling? A brother or a sister?"

"Neither." Piper coughed. "Forget it. You don't have a sibling."

"But you just said-"

"I said there's no other Poseidon kids!" Piper snapped, turning abruptly away, whistling for their pegasus.

"I'd keep quiet about this if I were you." Hazel said to me. She was looking at me oddly, a sort of sadness in her eyes. "When we bring you to camp, don't mention anything about other Poseidon kids. Seriously. They'll rip your head off and stick it on a post."

"Why?"

"Let's just say..." Hazel sighed. "It's not something we talk about anymore. There was a tragic death...and we're pretty much working hard to pretend that it never happened."

"Did a Poseidon kid die?"

"Yeah." Hazel laughed shortly. "But he wasn't _just _a Poseidon kid."

We were quiet for a moment, watching their pegasus soar down from the sky.

"Your awfully calm about this." Hazel turned to me. "Most kids would be freaking out right now."

I shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel like I know all this stuff already. The Greek Gods, right? They're real?"

Hazel looked surprised. "Yeah. How did you find out?"

I frowned. "I just sort of knew all along."

Hazel turned away from me. "That's weird. And also...you're a little old to not be at Camp Half-Blood, after Per-uh, after _he _made the Gods promise to claim their children by twelve. What your name, and what have you been doing all these years?"

"Chance Johnson." I sighed. "And I don't remember. I woke up on this beach a year ago, my memory a complete blank. The only thing I remembered was my name."

"Weird."

"Yeah."

"Guys!" Piper called to us. "C'mon!"

We headed over to her, the pegasus watching me speculatively.

Sirens wailed in the distance.

"Let's get going already." Piper mounted the pegasus. "Before the police get here."

* * *

**Was this chapter too short? I don't know. Should I write longer chapters or is this good? Review and tell me :)**

**The more reviews I get, the faster I'll update!**

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**No. The cookies are mine. But still. PLEASE REVIEW. Seriously.**

**~BurningAngel**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey everybody!**

**A shout out to 17dpeter, my first review. :)**

**Well, technically, my first review was a guest, but they were a guest, so...**

**Also an EXTRA SPECIAL shout out to Percabeth1300, for your amazingly long review(Yes, it is eligible to be counted as two XD). You, my friend, are awesome. :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO. If I did, then Percy and Annabeth would have a nice, long life together, no more monsters would chase them, and they'd live happily ever after forever and ever.**

**Percy: Aw, I wish you owned me.  
**

**Me: Yes. I do too, Percy. I do too.**

* * *

The pegasus ride was awkward, to say the least.

For one, I was squashed between two girls that I had just barely met, our personal spaces highly violated. And second, the pegasus-he said that his name was Windstorm-wouldn't stop complaining to me that pegasus weren't meant to carry three people.

When an island finally came into view, I couldn't stop myself from gasping at the sense of deja vu that flooded through me. I knew this place. I had done this all before, I was sure of it. But as quickly as the feeling came, it was gone again, leaving me with a strange sense of longing.

Windstorm touched down on the beach, and snorted in relief when the three of us dismounted. _Gods, _he whinnied disdainfully. _I don't think I've ever carried heavier demigods. And you. You call yourself a son of Poseidon? What do you do all day? Eat jelly donuts?_

I ignored his comment. "Thanks for carrying us, Windstorm."

Windstorm snorted back something that was not very nice at all, then took off, fading into the sky.

"Rude, much." I murmured.

"Don't think much of it." Hazel said offhandedly. "They're all like that."

"Pegasi are possibly the rudest creatures that walk our earth." Piper said. "Well, _fly _our earth, I should say."

"They didn't use to be like this." Hazel sighed. "They used to quite fun, you know."

"What happened?"

Piper made a face. "Leave it up to Hazel to bring up _him _again."

Hazel acted like Piper hadn't spoken. "Well, you know the other son of Poseidon, right? The one I was telling you about? Yeah. He was like the Hero of Olympus, killed Kronos and Gaea and all that. And when Per- when _he _died, the pegasi just kinda went nuts. Started holding a grudge against us. They were mad that _he _died, instead of one of us."

"But mention one word about him, and the campers will all claw you to death." Piper warned. "Especially the older ones. I was on the verge of clawing you myself."

I couldn't tell whether or not she was joking.

"Guys!" A bleating voice interrupted our conversation. A guy with curly hair ran towards us, panting. The bottom half of his body consisted of goat legs. "You're back!"

"Yeah." Hazel smiled at him. "Almost got skewered by a dracaena in the process, though."

With a little pop, the goat/guy's jaw dropped. I wondered if he had heard anything Hazel said. He looked like he was too busy staring at me. He cocked his head to the side, appraising me with an awed expression. His mouth opened and closed slowly.

"Is-is that..." He trailed off, his stare beginning to make me uncomfortable.

"Grover, meet Chance. The demigod that Jason and Frank said that they saw. We're pretty sure he's a son of Poseidon."

"Oh." Grover exhaled slowly, looking disappointed.

Piper gave a sad little laugh. "Yeah, Grover. I know. That was my reaction too. He looks a lot like _him_, huh?"

"They could be twins," Grover muttered. "Well," he continued with a sigh. "I'd better take him to the Big House. Chiron will be, uh, shocked to hear that there's another child of Poseidon."

"Right. See ya, Grover."

Hazel and Piper left, leaving me in the company of Grover the goat man. He took me to what I assumed was the 'Big House,' staring at me wistfully the whole way.

"Chiron?" Grover knocked on the door.

"Yes, Grover, come in." A voice called from inside.

We walked in, and in the living room, there was a centaur, a grand white stallion with the upper body of a kind-looking man, with crinkles at the corners of his eyes and a brown beard. Looking somewhat less grand compared to the centaur was a bored-looking man wearing a white toga and a grapevine on his head.

"What the-" A girl stood up, gaping at me. She had been blocked by the centaur, but she was in full view now, her bouncy red curls and paint splattered jeans immediately grabbing my attention. She stalked up to me, her bright green eyes narrowed. I backed up a step. "Are you who I think you are? Because if you are, then I swear to Zeus, I am going to _hurt_ you. For a whole goddamn year, we all thought you were dead, and if you want to know what you did to Annabeth-"

"Uh, Rachel," Grover interrupted in a small voice. "This is, um, Chance. Piper and Hazel found him by the beach. He's, uh, another son of Poseidon."

"Oh." Rachel paused mid-sentence, clearly re-thinking what she was just about to say. "Well, then. Nice to meet you. You probably think I'm crazy now, but that can't be helped." She shook my hand. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"Chance Johnson."

"Gods, he looks so much like _him_."

Grover sighed. "I know."

"Glad you could join us, Chance." Chiron walked-or should I say trotted?-over to us. "Welcome to Camp Half-blood. You must be pretty bewildered right now."

"Actually..." I looked down, a bit embarrassed. "I know everything. The Greek Gods are real, right? And they have children with mortals, who are then half-bloods, or demigods. This is like a camp for us all, right?"

Chiron blinked. "Uh, yes. And how exactly do you know all this?"

"I don't know." I frowned. "Things just keep coming to me out of nowhere."

Chiron looked at me. "Well, you do seem to be a special case. A little too old to be coming here now...and another child of Poseidon. Zeus isn't going to be too happy about that. And you've lost your memories, you say?"

I nodded.

"That's happened only once before, when Jason came. Maybe something like that is happening again..." Chiron trailed off, looking thoughtful. "Especially after what the draceana said. Kronos and Gaea rising together? The results would be disastrous."

"It could have been lying to us," Grover bleated nervously. "To scare us."

"Let's hope so," Chiron said gravely.

Rachel looked like she was about to say something, but just then, the door to the Big House burst open. A thick, burly girl came inside, a spear strapped to her back. She cracked her knuckles in anticipation.

"So," her voice was a sneer. "I heard we have a new camper."

"Yes." Chiron seemed oblivious to the girl's imposing figure. "Clarisse, meet Chance Johnson. Chance, Clarisse La Rue."

Clarisse turned to look at me, but when her eyes met mine, the grin faltered slightly.

"We are pretty sure Chance is a son of Poseidon, although he still has not yet been claimed. He will have to stay in the Hermes cabin." Chiron continued. "Please make him feel at home here."

"Chiron..." Clarisse's voice was low. "He, uh, he looks just like Pe-"

"We know who he looks like," Rachel snapped. "But he's not, okay? He's just another son of Poseidon."

"Right." Clarisse seemed to pull herself together. The grin slid back on her face, though it looked slightly less enthusiastic than it did before. "And I would be _very _happy to make him feel at home. In fact, I think I'll play tour guide and show him to his cabin."

"Clarisse." Chiron warned.

"Don't worry, Chiron." Clarisse was already leading me out the door. "I'll make sure he gets a very special welcome."

I followed Clarisse outside, although something told me that I should be making a break for it. She led me to a circle of cabins, each one unique and distinct. I wondered which one was the Hermes Cabin.

Suddenly, Clarisse veered off sharply, heading to the right. With an uneasy feeling, I followed her. We left the cabins behind, and I could see what looked like the showers and bathrooms ahead. A circle of kids were waiting there for me, each one just as muscular as Clarisse. They were all grinning at me, looking like they wanted to eat me for lunch.

"Everybody," Clarisses voice carried to all the kids. "meet Chance Johnson."

The kids whooped.

Clarisse was grinning like crazy. "I'm going to give him a warm welcome from the Ares Cabin!"

The kids hollered and whistled, and Clarisse came forwards, stalking towards me. I took a step back. Then, quick as lightning, her hand came and snatched me up by the collar. I wasn't short for my age, or even scrawny, but Clarisse picked me up like I was as light as a feather.

"Swirlie! Swirlie!" The kids chanted.

"Really?" Clarisse snapped. Her face had gone pale. "Can't you guys be a little more creative?"

"Swirlie! Swirlie!" They continued.

"What, Clarisse? You chicken?" Someone shouted.

Clarisse glared in the general direction of the voice, then looked back at me, teeth gritted. I looked into her angry eyes, and for a second, a memory flared through me.

_Shoving me down...struggling...an explosion. Water everywhere. Clarisse is mad. And wet._

My head pounded suddenly, and the memory vaporized. I tried to call it back again, but it was hard to concentrate when you were in the middle of a circle of chanting Ares kids.

"Ugh!" With something of a frustrated growl, Clarisse threw me down to the ground. I landed with a thump, then looked up, surprised.

"Bok bok!" The guy who had called Clarisse chicken did his best imitation.

"Shut up!" Clarisse snarled, her face furious. "It's just too much, okay? He looks too much like _him._"

The crowd went from rowdy to dead silent in a matter of seconds.

"It-it just feels like deja vu." Clarisse's voice shook uncharacteristically. "Like it's happening all over again. So give me a break, okay? I know it might not have seemed like it, but _he _was actually-actually my...friend. He was alright, for a punk. And he even helped me retrieve Ares' chariot**(The Demigod Files reference for those of you who haven't read it)**."

Clarisse looked down at me, her voice hardening. "And you. You'd better be happy. Someone you never even knew saved your neck. This never happened, you understand? Mention one word of this to _anyone, _and next time, you won't be so lucky."

With that, Clarisse turned on her heel, stalking away. The Ares kids stared at each other uncertainly for a couple of seconds, then slowly drifted away, muttering among themselves.

I remained on the ground for a few moments longer, then stood up slowly, brushing the dirt from my jeans. I looked back at the cabins, but I didn't really feel like heading there and asking everyone for the Hermes cabin, like a loser. With a sigh, I turned and headed back down to the beach. The ocean always calmed me. Must be a child of Poseidon thing.

The beach was deserted, which felt all wrong. Something told me that this beach wasn't supposed to be so empty. But the waves had their usual calming effect, and I walked back and forth along the shoreline. Of course I had to trip, and I got back up, muttering a curse.

I frowned at what I had tripped on. It was a huge piece of beautiful, smooth, half-buried sea stone. There seemed to be engravings on it. I brushed off the sand that I must have kicked onto it, then squinted, trying my best to make out the words, since I was dyslexic.

_In Memory Of_

_Perseus(Percy) Jackson_

_August 18th, 1994 - August 17th, 2012_

_Son of Poseidon, Defeater of Kronos and Gaea_

_and Savior of Olympus._

_You will be remembered._

Percy Jackson. He must have been the other son of Poseidon, the one who had died. The one that everybody seemed to be mistaking me for. The name sounded familiar somehow, but my brain refused to let me pull out the memory attached to it. With a sigh, I straightened up. There was a flash of red at the corner of my eye.

It was a single rose. I must have kicked it off the stone. I picked it up, then yelped slightly as it jabbed my finger. The rose was beautiful, with petals the color of blood. Numbers shimmered on one petal. I squinted, leaning in closer to read it. 365. The exact number of days since the death of Percy Jackson. The rose was counting.

I was about to put it back down when I noticed a note, tied to the rose's stem. I unrolled it. It was stained here and there, as if somebody had cried while writing the note, their tears falling onto the paper.

_I love you, Percy. I miss my Seaweed Brain._

The note wasn't signed. I flipped it over hopefully, but there was nothing more on the back.

"Hey. You're Chance, right?"

I jumped, dropping the rose. It landed right in the center of the sea stone, blocking half of the word _defeater. _A boy walked up to me, a single eyebrow raised. He was tall, with hair the color of obsidian and eyes that were as dark as midnight.

"Yeah. I'm Chance."

"Figured." The boy laughed. "I'm West. Son of Nemesis."

"How did you know who I was?"

West shrugged. "Heard about a new camper, then saw you down by the beach. Nobody comes down here anymore. And even if they did, they wouldn't dare to pick up Annabeth's Rose."

The name sent a weird jolt through me. "Annabeth's Rose?"

"It's a long story." He sat down, patting the ground beside him. "Take a seat."

I sat.

"It all began with Percy Jackson." West looked at me. "People say you look just like him."

"Do I?"

West shrugged. "Wouldn't know. Never met him. I came here just a week after he died. It was horrible. People were like the walking dead around here."

"But I thought there was some oath that made the Gods claim their children by twelve?"

"Yeah. There is." West snorted. "You know you have a bad mother when they forget your existence. But hey, what else can you expect from Nemesis?"

I was pretty sure the question was rhetorical.

"Anyway, continuing with the story. He was the son of Poseidon, part of the Great Prophecy and the Prophecy of Seven. Amazing guy, killed many, many monsters. Hero of Olympus and Savior of the World and all that stuff."

"But he died."

"Yeah. During the war with Gaea. He was killed while saving the world and his girlfriend, Annabeth. I met her, actually. Quite a pretty girl. Though she seemed to kind of go crazy after Percy's death. Wouldn't talk to anyone, wouldn't eat, just sat down by the beach all day, staring into the waves. Then one day, she just got up and left. Just like that. No note of goodbye, no farewell, nothing. Just left. Everyone thought, okay, so she'll be back in a week or so, she probably just needs to kill some monsters, blow off some steam. But she never returned. A week turned into two. Then it turned into a month. Chiron sent out search parties, but it's like she just vanished off the face of the planet."

"So she still hasn't been found?" I asked.

"No. We're not really searching anymore. Not since one of our demigods was killed during a search. It's been almost a year now, and we're not even sure if she's alive or dead."

"Well, that's stupid." I felt mad, though I wasn't quite sure why. "Her boyfriend sacrificed himself to save her, then she just goes and throws her life away?"

"She might not be dead."

"Nobody really believes that she's dead." A girl was suddenly there beside us. She had short, golden-blonde hair and blue eyes that shimmered slightly when she spoke. "I've been looking for you everywhere, West."

"Sorry, Dee. I was just talking to Chance. He's new."

"Oh! Nice to meet you." Dee smiled a hundred-watt smile. "Why don't you introduce us, West?"

"Right." West gestured at me. "Dee, this is Chance. Unclaimed. But almost certainly a son of Poseidon. Chance, meet Dee. Daughter of Apollo. We lived on the streets together before we came to Camp Half-Blood. She was claimed when she was twelve, but at the time, we didn't really know what the weird glowing thing above her head was. And we ran from the weird guy in the golden chariot who wouldn't stop making haiku's..."

Dee laughed. "Dad wasn't too happy about that."

West frowned. He seemed to be looking above Dee's head. "Um, why's Grover running towards us?"

I turned, and sure enough, Grover was clomping down the beach, panting as he ran. "Chance!"

"Yeah?" I waited for Grover to reach us, his face red. He took a second to catch his breath.

"SorryI'mreallytiredran-"

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down."

Grover took a deep breath. "Sorry...I'm...really...tired...ran...all...the way...here...from...the Big House."

"What's wrong, Grover?" Dee looked worried.

"Rachel just...announced... a prophecy."

"A prophecy?" West's eyes went wide.

"Yes. A...prophecy. For Chance."

* * *

**Dun Dun Dun...Cliffhanger!**

**I'm sorry, I seem to have a bad habit of ending on cliffhangers.**

**I really didn't want to do this to you, but this chapter was getting long, and this just seemed like a good spot to end it.**

**I'm pretty much done the next chapter, though! If you REVIEW, I'll post it tomorrow! ;)**

**~BurningAngel**


	4. Chapter 3

**Woo! Thanks for all your reviews!**

**And ...17dpeter _was _the first review. My email tells me so. But I'm checking back now...and his review is gone. Now that's really weird. So congrats on being my first reviewer, Ms. Wrong! ;D**

**To Percabeth1003...OMG. You made my day with your review. I was sitting on my bed, then I get this email, and I open it up and see this HUGE review. Halfway through it, I start cracking up, and then I get to the bottom all I see is POST MORE POST MO... this message has been truncated due to length. I laughed so hard I fell off the bed. And your other review...its a really good idea, but they're going on a quest to find Annabeth...so...yeah. But I might still do the memory thing! And also, I kinda deleted my old account...it was from two years ago, and my writing was so horrible back then XD. Anyways, Thanks for your amazing awesomeness!**

**Now. On with the chapter.**

* * *

As soon as we walked through the door, Rachel started glaring at Grover. And by glaring, I meant _glaring. _Like she wanted to run him through with a sword and then burn his body and dance around the funeral pyre.

"Grover. I thought I told you to ignore it."

Grover chewed on his lip nervously. "Uh, Chiron told me to go get him."

"Yes, Rachel, I did." Chiron said calmly. "A prophecy's a prophecy."

"I thought prophecies weren't accurate?" Dee asked, confused.

"They aren't," Rachel said sourly.

"We've been going by them for centuries, though." Chiron frowned at Rachel. "We can't ignore them completely just because one line didn't work out."

"One line?" I felt bad interrupting, but my curiosity got the better of me.

"The Prophecy of Seven," Rachel sighed. "_Seven half-bloods shall answer the call_, yadda, yadda, yadda. The line that never came true was _an oath to keep with a final breath. _The only final breath was _his."_

"Percy Jackson."

Rachel ignored me, but I saw her eyes flash briefly. "And he wasn't keeping any oath or whatever. He never made an oath to die."

"I don't think anyone would make an oath to die," West interjected.

"So you see," Rachel continued. "Prophecies aren't accurate. We can't trust them."

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't follow them," Chiron said. "Just be careful. Don't go by everything they say."

"So, what's this prophecy about me?"

Chiron and Rachel shared a look.

"Well," Chiron cleared his throat. "We haven't really heard the whole thing yet."

"Then how do you know it's about me?"

"The oracle-who is inside me, by the way-" Rachel told me, "The oracle said the son of the sea. That's all it said, though. Its never recited bits and pieces of prophecies before. We figured that, since you're the only son of the sea who's _alive, _it must want to talk to you."

"Rachel, do you think you could get the oracle to recite the whole thing now?" Chiron asked.

Rachel shrugged. "Usually I can't get it to listen to me. I don't-"

With something like a little gasp, Rachel's head fell forwards. Wide-eyed, I rushed forwards to see what was wrong, but Chiron put a hand on my arm and signaled for me to wait.

For a moment, nothing happened, and I was worried that Rachel had had a stroke or something, and we were missing our chance to save her life. But then, she raised her head, slowly, almost mechanically.

Her eyes were glassy, and a weird, deep shade of green, almost puke colored. Her mouth had fallen open, and she stared straight through me.

A thick, green mist poured out of her mouth. It wrapped itself around me. I felt power, something old and ancient in the mist. It spoke with a papery, hissing voice.

_"The son of the sea shall recover his past,_

_He will find whom he seeks,_

_And bring her back home at last._

_But two will fall as Earth and Time rise,_

_And he shall turn on his own,_

_Hidden behind masks of golden eyes."_

Well. That didn't sound good.

The smoky mist curled around me for another second, and then seemed to retract back into Rachel's mouth. Her head fell forwards again, and in the next second, she raised her head back up, her eyes normal again.

"Well?" She demanded.

Chiron looked pale. "The dracaena wasn't lying. _As Earth and Time rise. _Kronos and Gaea. They're rising."_  
_

The room was dead silent.

"Well," Dee laughed nervously. "At least he will find who he seeks."

"Just tell me the whole prophecy," Rachel snapped.

I recited it back to her, my lips hardly moving.

"Well." She coughed. "That doesn't sound good."

Exactly what I had thought.

"Sounds like we have a quest on our hands," Mr. D intoned, sounding bored.

"To find someone," West said.

"Obviously Annabeth," Rachel sounded slightly irritated. "She's the only one who's missing."

Chiron looked thoughtful. "It sounds like Chance will be searching for Annabeth."

"Annabeth? I don't even know who she is. She could be anywhere, and from what I've heard, she might not even be _alive._"

"The prophecy said that you will find her," Chiron stated.

"If the prophecy's even correct," Rachel muttered under her breath.

"It will be a quest of three," Chiron was already settling back into the familiar quest routine. "The classic amount of people for a quest. One will be Chance. You can pick two other people."

"Wait, wait, wait." I held up a hand. "Hold up. Didn't you hear what the prophecy said? _Two will fall as Earth and Time rise. _Two people are going to die. And also, it said that I was going to turn on my own. So doesn't that mean I'm going to kill my friends? Who are obviously the two that fall when Earth and Time rise? We're just sending people out to die here."

"We have no choice," Chiron said gravely. "Gaea and Kronos are rising again, and you are apparently the only person who can stop them. Besides, the prophecies don't always come true."

I could see that Chiron was grasping at straws. He knew there was a high chance that two people were going to die, but honestly, we really had no choice. If Kronos and Gaea were rising together, then we had to do everything in our power to stop them. And maybe, just maybe, the prophecy wouldn't come true. It hadn't come true before, with Percy Jackson, so why should it come true now?

"Pick your companions. You will leave tomorrow," Chiron told me.

"But he's completely new here!" West protested. "He's not even claimed. No training, no nothing. How is he supposed to go on a quest? He'll die!"

Chiron shook his head. "We don't have any choice, West. If Gaea and Kronos are rising, then we are going to need all the time we can get. They aren't going to wait for Chance to get training. We will do all we can today, take him for some boot camp sessions with Clarisse."

West still looked unhappy.

"Well," I began. "Really, the only two people I know here are West and Dee, so..."

They both perked up at the sound of going on a quest. Even though the prophecy told them that they were going to die.

"Chance," Chiron said. "I really recommend you pick a senior councilor, to aid you."

"But I don't know any of them. And you will need protection back here, at Camp Half-blood. There are obviously going to be a lot of attacks if Kronos and Gaea are rising. And you said that I'm going to boot camp with Clarisse, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"And West and Dee aren't _that _new. I'm sure they're really good."

"Alright, alright," Chiron sighed. "But be careful. And Chance, go up to the attic. Find yourself a weapon. Then go find Clarisse. All three of you. You're going to need all the training you can get."

* * *

The attic was creepy.

Junk littered the walls and the floors, stacked in piles up to the ceiling. There seemed to be items from quests, found by the campers. Cobwebs stretched across the room, and everything was covered with a fine layer of dust. An empty stool sat by the single, dirt-stained window.

I glanced around. There were weapons, but I felt like I shouldn't touch anything, like I was in a museum and that if I even reached out a hand, an alarm would ring.

A horn caught my eye. It was brownish and old looking, as if it had been mounted on its plaque for a long, long time. I squinted to read the fine script engraved on the plaque, managing to make it out through my dyslexia.

_Minotaur Horn._

_Percy Jackson, 2005_

Of course. Percy Jackson. It seemed like he was everywhere.

A string of beads sat on a nearby table, on top of a piece of paper. The paper was yellowing at the edges. I read the description.

_Camp Beads._

_Luke Castellion_

_Years 1999-2009_

Hesitantly, I brushed the dust off of the clay beads. I couldn't seem to take my eye off of the sixth one, a single black bead with a green trident in the middle. The dust fluttered softly to the ground, landing on a pink silk scarf.

With a frown, I bent down to pick it was a tag attached to it.

_Aphrodite's Scarf_

_Recovered at the Hoover Dam_

_By Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase_

_2005_

Percy and Annabeth. Two people who were now gone. The smell of strawberries from the scarf buffeted my nose, and then I was falling into a flashback.

_I pick up the scarf...smells like strawberries. Annabeth rips it out of my hand. "No love magic for you."_

What in Hades was that? My headache was back. I pressed a finger to my temple, taking a deep breath. I tried to pull out the flashback again, but it was long gone.

With a sigh, I set the scarf back on the ground, beside a ballpoint pen.

A pen? What was a pen doing up here?

I picked it up, and immediately, a jolt of energy went up my arm. It felt familiar. I had seen this pen before. A_naklusmos. _Riptide. I didn't know how I knew that, but I did.

I looked down at the paper beneath the pen.

_Anaklusmos_

_Riptide_

_Lost by Percy Jackson_

_August 17th, 2012_

Lost by Percy Jackson. The day he died. This was his pen. Weird that it would end up up here.

Almost on instinct, I reached forward, uncapping the pen. It grew in my hand, until it was a celestial bronze sword. I didn't jump. Somehow, I had been expecting this. The sword felt normal in my hand. Natural. It had been Percy Jackson's weapon.

And now it was mine.

* * *

"Interesting choice of weapon," Clarisse acknowledged.

It was boot camp with Clarisse. When Clarisse taught you to fight, she taught you to _fight. _I had just watched Dee and West get pummeled by her, and I was not eager to be next. West had lasted a little longer than Dee, and for his determination, he had been rewarded with a huge bruise the size of Clarisse's fist.

"Let's see what you've got, Chance Johnson," She sneered. She pulled her spear off her back. Bloodred ruffled fluttered awfully close to my face.

"Yeah! Go Chance!" Dee cheered enthusiastically. A little too enthusiastically.

Clarisse nodded once at me, and then she charged.

"Whoa!" I yelped. "Aren't you supposed to actually teach me something first?"

"Just need to see your skill level." Clarisse paused momentarily. "To know where you're at."

"I'm at zero! Nothing!"

Clarisse ignored me. Something told me that she just wanted to beat me up.

She swung her spear. I winced, waiting for impact. Nothing. When I opened my eyes, my sword was blocking Clarisse's spear. Clarisse looked surprised. I probably looked surprised too. But she recovered quickly, spinning out of my block and going for my left side.

I let instinct take over, and then I was parrying with Clarisse, not letting her land a single blow. After a while on defense, I switched to offense, and started pushing Clarisse back.

West and Dee were in complete, awed, silence.

Clarisse gritted her teeth, and swung her spear at my feet, trying to knock me off balance. I jumped just in time, then struck a blow with the flat of my sword to her stomach. She winced, then faked to the left. I didn't fall for it, but then she went through with the swing, knocking the air out of my side. She went for a final blow to the face, and I held up my sword, letting it clash with her spear, almost snapping it in half.

Then, in a quick, fluid motion, I disarmed her using a wrist twisting technique that I hadn't even realized I knew. Her spear clattered to the ground.

The arena was dead silent.

Clarisse was staring at me. Then, her eyes narrowed. "Well," she spat venomously. "I guess you won't be needing my training."

She spun on her heel, then left, almost forgetting to pick up her spear.

In the next second, West and Dee were beside me.

"Dude," West managed. "Do you know what you just did?"

"Er, not really."

"You disarmed Clarisse." Dee's eyes were wide. "Using Luke's Strike."

"Luke's Strike?"

"It's a technique named after Luke Castellion. He came up with it. It's really hard to learn, and the only two people who have ever completely mastered it are him and Percy Jackson. And they're both dead."

"Well." I coughed. "Maybe you guys saw it wrong. Because as far as I'm concerned, I don't even know how I managed to do all that."

A guy got up from the Arena seats, staring at me. His gaze made me want to look at the floor. He was pale and slim, a little younger than me. He had dark, jet black hair that fell into his eyes. His eyes were a flat, bottomless black.

He walked past me, brushing my shoulder. I felt like he was familiar. That somehow I knew him.

"Good work." His voice was quiet.

Then, he was gone, walking away from me.

"Wait!" I called. "Who are you?"

"That's Nico Di Angelo," West looked slightly in awe. "He's a son of Hades, one of the Heroes of Olympus that defeated Gaea and was given limited immortality. He doesn't talk to us new campers, and now he talks even less, only to like, the camp councilors and the Seven. Nico's been all weird ever since _he _died."

"But he talked to me."

"Yes." West and Dee looked at me with new respect in their eyes.

We left the Arena, and nervousness fluttered in my stomach. The quest. It was tomorrow. And as the three of us headed to the campfire for dinner, I couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Nico knew something about me. That was for sure. He knew something about who I really was. And whoever I was, it must be someone powerful.

The flashbacks.

The sword fighting.

I was obviously more than just plain ole' Chance.

* * *

**Is that a cliffhanger? I don't think so. I worked hard to actually not end on one this time. XD**

**Anyway, what do you think? And also, check out my new story, Broken Promises. You will not be disappointed. I hope.**

**And, as always, don't forget to review!**

**~BurningAngel**


	5. Chapter 4

**OMG (that's Oh My Gods, btw) so I just read Divergent... and IT IS AMAZING! I love Four/Tobias ;) I can't wait to read Insurgent.**

**And...I also just finished City of Bones...I'M SORRY BUT I JUST _HAVE_ TO RANT ABOUT IT**

***SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T READ CITY OF BONES(and if you ever intend to) SKIP THIS NEXT PART***

**I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! The whole time, I honestly suspected that Jace and Clary were Valentine's children, but I was like, nah no they can't be cause they can't be siblings cause they love each other, right? So then I get to the part where it says they're brother and sister...I reread it five times, then freaked out and screamed "SCREW YOU!" and threw my book across the room because HOLY CRAP HOLY CRAP they can't be siblings! NOOOO!**

***OKAY I'M DONE NOW***

**Back to PJO. **

**Disclaimer: Once again, I do not, nor will I ever, own PJO.**

* * *

_It was a bright, sunny day, and I was standing in a meadow, the long, lush grass tickling my legs. _

_I was well aware that it was a dream, because perfect weather like this just didn't exist in real life. And the weather _was _perfect. Absolutely amazing. Butterflies fluttered up around me, and I reached out, letting the nearest one land on the back of my hand. It flapped its wings slowly, seeming to look up at me._

_It was a __gorgeous, golden-yellow color, and I could see its tiny and beady eyes. Only they weren't beady. Not beady at all. They were human._

_And more than that. The butterfly had stormy gray eyes, intelligent and scrutinizing. They reminded me of someone..._

_Then, with a flap, the butterfly's wings were growing. Bigger...bigger... No. They weren't wings, they never had been. They were hair. Blonde curls. _

_I blinked, and a girl was standing in front of me. The same girl that I'd constantly dreamed about. She looked like a princess, with golden curls framing her face and gray eyes that were as thunderous as storm clouds._

_And she looked _mad.

_The girl glared at me, her eyes narrowing into tiny slits. Then, with big loping steps, she strode straight up to me._

_"Percy Jackson," she hissed._

_Before I could reply, she snapped her arm up, slapping me. Hard._

_My eyes widened, surprised, and I touched my cheek, feeling the sting that she had left behind. "What in Hades?"_

_"You broke your oath." Her eyes flashed. "You weren't supposed to die. You promised. You promised."_

_"I didn't promise anything. I'm not-"_

_"You promised!" She screamed, tears sliding down her cheeks._

_"I'm not Percy Jackson!"_

_For a moment, the girl was quiet. She looked down to the ground slowly, her face hidden by her curls. When she looked up again, her eyes were gold. I stumbled back, away from her._

_"Oh, really?" The voice that spoke wasn't hers. _

_"I-" I tried to argue, but then the ground split open beneath my feet. With a gasp, I grabbed on to the edge of the crack. Muscles straining, I pulled myself up._

_And then immediately wished that I hadn't. Hades would have been better than this._

_The meadow was red. The grass was gone, withered and brown, blood smeared on the ground. The trees were dead, their branches blocking out the sky and dripping blood. The sky was a deep shade of gray, reminding me of the girl's eyes._

_She was there now, tied to a tree, a deep gash running across her chest. Blood soaked through her shirt, and she was screaming in agony._

_"Percy Jackson," A deep male voice rumbled from within the ground. It was familiar...an old memory, tucked away somewhere in my brain. _

_"I'm not Percy Jackson!" I yelled. "I'm Chance! Chance Johnson!"_

_"Ah, yes, _Chance._" The voice chuckled. "Why don't you save her, hmm? Save her."_

_"This is just a dream," I growled._

_"True," The voice allowed. "But you'll remember that when you're a half-blood, dreams are never _just _dreams."_

_I looked over at the girl anxiously, but she was gone. A smear of blood remained on the tree, and the chains that had held her laid on the ground._

_"What-" I began, but before I could finish, two figures were walking out of the trees. I couldn't see their faces, hidden under black robes, but I got the distinct feeling that they were my friends. A dagger was in my hand._

_"Kill them, little hero." It was a different voice now, female, also distantly familiar. "After all, you deserve to suffer."_

_"I can't kill them," I protested. "They're my friends."_

_"Kill them," the voice repeated._

_The two figures walked towards me, and I could see that one of them was female, the other male. They stopped just a meter away from me, holding out their hands, an invitation._

_"Yes," The girl laughed. Her voice was bright and cheery. "Kill us."_

_The boy smiled at me, just allowing me to see his friendly, lopsided smile under the shadow of his hood. "Or we will kill _you."

* * *

I awoke with a gasp.

"- will kill you," my alarm clock was saying. "Get up! Get up! Or Chiron will kill you. Get up! Get up! Or Chi-"

I hit the snooze button, exasperated. I felt like I hadn't gotten a single wink of sleep, and my nightmare danced around in my head. With a groan, I laid back down, pulling the covers over my head.

A huge bucket of water dumped itself over my head. I barely had time to register anything before the covers were snatched off me, dripping wet. Rachel was standing over me, hands on her hips.

"Rachel!" I yelped. "What are you doing in the Hermes cabin?"

"Waking you up," she retorted.

"Thanks, mom," I grumbled.

"Oh, stop complaining." She tossed the soaked blanket back at me. "You're not even wet."

I looked down, and sure enough, I was completely dry.

"Poseidon perks," Rachel told me. "Now come on. You have a quest to go on, in case you've forgotten."

"Right." I didn't sound very enthusiastic.

Rachel let me change, then led me out of the Hermes cabin, up to the big pine tree. Several campers gaped at me as I passed them, and I wondered how long it would be before people started running up to me and asking for my autograph. "Whoa," One of them managed. "Is that-"

I stopped listening, gritting my teeth. This whole looking-like-Percy-Jackson thing was getting old real fast.

West and Dee were already up on the hill, shouldering yellow duffle bags. They waved me over when I got up the hill, leaving Rachel to make her way back down to the Big House.

"Nice day for a quest," West commented. I looked out over New York City. The sky was a dark gray, the clouds swelled up with rain. A shiver ran down my spine when I realized that it looked almost exactly like my nightmare.

"Maybe we should postpone it," I offered.

"Aw, come on, guys." Dee scoffed. "Zeus is probably just in a bad mood. Or maybe dad decided to sleep in today."

"And besides," Chiron added. He clopped up the hill, coming to stand beside us. "We do not have time to hold back this quest. Finding Annabeth is of utmost importance if she can help us defeat Kronos and Gaea."

"One of them was bad enough," Dee murmured.

"And we don't have Percy Jackson to save our sorry asses this time, huh?" West raised a brow.

"Enough, West."

"My bad."

"The three of you will fly over New York City, looking for Annabeth," Chiron continued. "If the prophecy is correct, then you should be able to find her."

"Flying over _that,_" I gestured at the stormy sky. "doesn't seem like such a good idea. Are you sure Zeus, being Zeus, won't blast us down?"

Thunder rumbled.

"Calm yourself," I muttered. "It wasn't an insult."

"I'm sure the Almighty Sky God will be reasonable," Chiron said, looking up at the sky.

The thunder grudgingly stopped.

"You'd better get going, while Zeus seems to be in a good mood," Chiron warned.

Three pegasi touched down behind us.

_Oh no, _Windstorm grumbled. _Not you again._

"Don't worry," I told him. "I'm definitely not riding you again."

I ran my eyes over the other two pegasi, a pure black one and one the color of the stormy gray sky. I blinked, returning my gaze to the black one. There was something about it...

_Pegasus on the roof of Paul's car...hoof dents...Rachel likes me?...Mention this to Annabeth...oh Gods no...Monsters on a cruise ship...giant crab...Greek Fire...Luke...Kronos? Explosion...Beckendorf..._

"Beckendorf?" I repeated. What kind of a name was that? As soon as I spoke, the memory/flashback swirled away, leaving behind nothing but emptiness.

_Actually, it's Blackjack, _the black pegasus snorted. _Beckendorf's dead._

"What?"

_Ignore him, _the gray pegasus told me. _He's ruder than most. He was Percy Jackson's pegasus._

"I dibs the sandy one!" Dee ran to Windstorm, petting his mane.

_Get your hands off of me, filthy half-blood, _Windstorm whinnied.

"What did he say?" Dee looked at me.

"Er-he likes you." I was rewarded with a string of profanities from Windstorm.

"Perfect." Dee mounted Windstorm, a happy smile on her face.

_Hey, at least I'm not like that, _Blackjack eyed Windstorm. _Why don't you ride me, kid? You remind me of _him.

"Of course I do," I muttered.

I climbed onto Blackjack's back. He winced. _Ow, kid. Watch the spine._

"Don't call me kid."

_I can call you whatever I want._

I frowned at the black pegasus, who tossed his mane indignantly. _Hey, you should be happy. You're sitting where Percy Jackson's butt sat exactly one year and one day ago._

"Good luck," Chiron called out. I saw that West was mounted as well, fists clenched in the mane of the gray pegasus. "And try to make it back alive!"

With a little snort, as if they had practiced the move beforehand, all of the pegasi shot up at the same time. The beating of wings was loud in my ears and I had to narrow my eyes against the wind and we rose into the sky.

I couldn't stop the little nervous twinge as we rose past the clouds, and I cast an anxious glance upwards, hoping Zeus wasn't in the mood for blasting kids on pegasi out of the sky.

"Woo! This is awesome!" West hooted from beside me. "My first quest!"

_Oh! _Blackjack sounded surprised. _First timer, huh? Us pegasi always give extra help to first timers!_

"Really?" I asked, suspicious.

_Really. _Windstorm butted in. _We'll make sure you get some _extra _special help._

I narrowed my eyes. I didn't like this. But it wasn't like I could just leave. We were up at least a few hundred feet in the air, and unless I wanted to go _splat _on the ground, I was stuck on Blackjack's back.

_This way! _Windstorm conducted a sharp air-spiral, and then we were over New York City.

The familiar landscape made my heart ache, both with its beauty and the fact that we had absolutely no chance of finding Annabeth in a city so huge.

"How the Hades are we going to find Annabeth?" West shouted to me, his voice nearly getting blown away in the wind.

"I don't know," I yelled back. "But the pegasi are going to help us, right?"

_Definitely, _Blackjack agreed.

Windstorm laughed, and suddenly I was worried.

The three pegasi dove straight down to the ground in nosedives, then stopped just above the roofs of the buildings. They were frighteningly close to skimming their hooves over the top of every structure.

"Look, mommy!" A little girl tugged on her mom's hand, smiling happily up at us. "Flying ponies!"

I sucked in a startled breath, but the little girl's mom barely spared us a glance. "Those are just pigeons, dear. Now come on. You're going to be late for your dance class."

The girl puckered her lips unhappily, still staring at us as her mom dragged her away.

_Poor kid, _Blackjack sympathized. _She just wanted to take a look at the handsome ponies._

The gray pegasus snorted. _Please, Blackjack. You? Handsome?_

_Oh, shut up, Dusk. _

Something flashed at the edge of my vision. A brief moment of black. I tried to catch it, but it was gone, and I found myself staring at an empty alley.

"Mommy!" The girl tugged again on her mom's hand, her eyes wide. "That boy over there just disappeared into the shadows-"

"Come _on, _honey." Her mom pulled her away. "Let's go."

I cursed silently. What had she been trying to say? Who had disappeared? Into the shadows? How was that possible?

I didn't have time to contemplate, though, because the three pegasi swerved up again. We flew over New York City, and I kept expecting the pegasi to stop, but they just kept going and going. We were almost at the edge of the city when I cleared my throat.

"Uh, I think here's good. You can just drop us off."

_Oh, don't worry, _Windstorm's eyes twinkled. _We'll be dropping you off soon enough._

The pegasi swirled up in the air, doing air tricks that forced me to grip Blackjack's mane with everything I had. The city faded away from behind us, and then we were flying over a desert, the sun beating down on us.

"What's going on, Chance?" Dee called up to me.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, I'm sure it's not good!"

Dusk gave a snort and Windstorm burst out laughing. _Oh, this is too good. Look at their faces._

"Stop! Seriously guys, put us down!" Dee tugged on Windstorm's mane.

_Nobody touches my mane! _Windstorm shook his head, then flew upside down, in a huge loop-de-loop.

"Windstorm!" I yelled at him.

He gave a snort, then started shaking his body with all his might. With a little yelp, Dee fell off, tumbling down into the desert sand.

"Dee!" West's eyes widened.

_Don't worry. _Dusk spun upside down as well. _You're next._

West didn't even try to hang on, and he flew downwards as well, sending up a cloud of sand that stung my eyes.

_Well, I guess it's your turn now._

Before I could protest, Blackjack performed a perfect loop-de-loop, and when he straightened back up again, I was lying in the sand, groaning. My back ached from where I had hit the ground.

_Suckers! _The three pegasi flew away, laughing, leaving the three of us stranded in the middle of the desert.

"Lesson learned," West grumbled, sitting up and staring after the three specks of pegasi in the distance. "I'm never trusting pegasi again."

"Well," Dee groaned. "How the Hades are we going to get out of this desert?"

"We could IM Chiron," I offered. "He'd probably send the pegasi to retrieve us, and give them a good punishment in the process."

"Oh Gods, no." West shook his head vigorously. "Finally, we have a chance to prove ourselves. We can't just ask for help when our quest's barely begun. Chiron would probably send us back, because how would we be able to deal with monsters when we can't even handle a couple of pegasi?"

"West is right," Dee said. "We've got to try and get out of this one on our own."

I glanced around the desert. It was as dry as dry could get, the ground cracked and sand blowing up occasionally. "Doesn't look very promising right now." I had the odd feeling that I was being watched, being observed. That someone was following us. But that was ridiculous.

"Is it just me, or am I already getting thirsty?" Dee peered up at the sun, burning relentlessly up in the sky.

"Can't you do something, Dee?" West shielded his eyes. "You _are _the daughter of the sun God. Can't you just, like, make the sun disappear or something?"

Dee glared at him. "West, I'm the _daughter _of the sun God, not freaking Apollo."

"Guys, hold up." I squinted into the distance. "What's that?"

Dee and West followed my gaze, frowning. There, in the distance, I could just make out the outline of a building. It looked like a pretty fancy building too, all glass and shiny steel.

"What _is _that?" Dee's eyes were wide.

"A mirage?" West volunteered.

"Doesn't look like one..."

"Why else would there be a building in the middle of the desert?"

"We should go see," I decided. "Maybe there's someone there who can help us."

West shrugged. "Can't hurt."

The three of us headed towards the building, and sure enough, it started to get bigger. It wasn't a mirage after all.

As we got closer, I could see that the building appeared to be a greenhouse, a huge, shiny dome with lush green plants sprouting up inside. A sign above the door proclaimed it to be _nuAtmEys' dGraenSettua, _which I assumed was because of my dyslexia.

"Whoever owns this greenhouse has to have water," Dee said brightly. "After all, plants need water, right?"

"The more important question is," West muttered. "Why is there a greenhouse in the middle of the desert? I mean, aren't you guys finding this just the tiniest bit suspicious?"

"Maybe they just like the fact that the sun's rays are stronger here," Dee suggested. And before the two of us could stop her, she went up and rang a small doorbell. It chimed, echoing beneath my feet.

At that second, my vision came into focus. The sign. It actually read: _Aunty Em's Statue Garden._

I frowned. Something tugged at the edge of my memory. Aunty Em. Aunty Em.

_The lady held up the camera, and I wished that she would just take the picture already. My arm was getting stiff around Grover. Her hair...snakes. What? No! She's a monster..._

The memory floated away, like a kite in the wind. With a curse, I tried to pull it back. I could feel that it was important, something that I really, really shouldn't forget. It was a warning. I tried to reach for it, to grasp it with my mind, but it was too late.

Because at that moment, the door opened.

* * *

**AHH! So sorry, cliffhanger again.**

**I really feel so mean now.**

**And also... the desert thing. I'm like, ninety-nine percent sure that there's no deserts around New York City. But whatever. Just pretend there is, for the sake of the story. And besides, I really wouldn't know, being Canadian. XD**

**Anyway, I promise I'll try and update as fast as possible, as long as I get lots of reviews!**

**~BurningAngel**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, sorry for taking so long to update, I had my piano festival(it's like a competition) and I had to practice. **

**Anyway, I'm back now. :D**

***Also I finished the Mortal Instruments and *SPOILER ALERT* Jace and Clary aren't siblings after all! *sigh of relief*. Now I'm just waiting for City of Heavenly Fire and the last Divergent book. Convergent, I think. Or Detergent(one choice will cleanse you-haha).***

* * *

I jumped back, startled, expecting anything. But it was only a lady, and quite a pretty one at that, with curly hair and eyes that I couldn't quite look at.

"Um, hello." Dee sounded slightly nervous. "We-ah, we were kind of lost in the desert, and we need some water... and could you point us back to New York?"

The woman looked at Dee, frowning. There was a flash of something peculiar in her eyes, and she looked kind of angry. Her eyes grew brighter and brighter as she ran her eyes over West as well, but as soon as she saw me, they dimmed, and then she was smiling warmly.

"Oh, of course, my dears! Come on in."

The three of us shared a glance. I didn't like this. Something was off.

"Come on, now." The woman held the door open expectantly.

Swallowing, I stepped inside. The greenhouse was blooming beautifully, lush green plants reaching for the sky. Butterflies fluttered here and there, and placed at intervals all throughout the greenhouse were statues.

I glanced curiously at the nearest one, an amazingly lifelike replica of a satyr holding panpipes. It was extremely detailed, perfect down to every scruff of fur. The only thing that was weird about it was the terrified expression on his face. Coming to think about it, all of the statues had distorted faces, not one smiling or happy. I felt a shiver go down my spine. Something was wrong.

"I see you like my statues." The woman was suddenly right beside me.

I jumped. "Uh, yeah. You made them?"

"Yes. Every one." I wasn't sure, but I thought I detected a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Wow. They're amazing."

"Thank you." The lady smiled, a genuine smile. "So, Percy Jackson, what brings you back here again?"

I stiffened immediately. "I'm not Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson is dead."

The lady raised an eyebrow. "Is he, now?"

"Yes."

The lady laughed. "Alright, then." She stuck out her hand, smiling mischievously. "Nice to meet you. I'm Aunty Em."

"Chance Johnson." I looked at her. "How do you know Percy Jackson?"

"Oh, you know." She shrugged. "He was just another demi-god, passing through."

Riptide was out of my pocket in an instant, at the lady's throat.

"Whoa, there." Aunty Em backed up a step. "There's no need to get violent."

"Who are you really?" I growled.

"Nice sword." She raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not Percy Jackson? That _is _his sword."

"I'm not Percy Jackson." I said, exasperated. "I'm tired of this. I'm tired of looking like 'oh! Percy! ohhh the Hero of Olympus!'. I never even knew him, for the Gods' sake!"

"Okay, okay,_ Chance_. Calm down." Aunty Em sighed. "Just come along, let's go get you some water."

I stared at her suspiciously for a moment, then looked back behind me, to my friends. With a jolt of shock, I realized that Dee and West were gone.

"They're in the food court," Aunty Em said hurriedly, seeing the look on my face. "They're absolutely fine."

I recapped Riptide, then followed Aunty Em to the food court cautiously, not entirely trusting her.

"Hey! Chance! Come on!" West called to me. Him and Dee were sitting at a table, eating greasy burgers and large french fries and chugging down water in between bites like nobody's business.

"Guys," I said, rolling my eyes. "And here I was all afraid that you were dead."

"Nope. We're fine." Dee grinned at me. "C'mon! You're missing all this food."

I was still hesitant, but Dee jumped up, dragging me over to the table. And I had to admit, the food looked _good. _I cleared the plate that Aunty Em set in front of me in record time, then sat back, satisfied.

"See," Dee said smugly. "Told you there was nothing to worry about."

"Um, excuse me," West said. "Aunty Em? Could you tell us the way back to New York now?"

"Of course, sweetheart." Aunty Em gave a wide grin. "But first, won't you let me take a picture? I don't get visitors here very often. I like to make memories." She looked at me, and once again, I had the strong feeling that this had all happened before. "Especially when I get _special _visitors."

"Um, well, we're kind of on a tight schedual..." I managed.

"Now, now." Aunty Em scolded. "Just one picture. It's all I'm asking for in return for my hospitality."

"Come on, Chance." Dee said. "One picture can't hurt."

I sighed. "Fine."

The three of us sat on a bench, wrapping our arms around each other. Aunty Em fumbled around in her apron for a moment, then pulled out one of those old fashioned cameras, its lens dirty and smudged.

"Uh," West said, "Are you sure you can get a picture with that?"

"Oh," Aunty Em grinned. "I'm sure."

She held the camera up to her eyes. "Smile, Percy!"

_She held the camera up to her eyes. "Smile, Percy!" I smiled, leaning into Annabeth. I held my pose, waiting for the click of the camera. My smile was beginning to hurt when Grover let out an alarmed bleat. "It's-"_

"Percy!" Aunty Em's voice jolted me out of the flashback. I felt dizzy all of a sudden. "Look up! Let me see those beautiful sea-green eyes."

My head was whirling so badly that I didn't even bother to correct her for calling me Percy. I looked up.

"Yes." She smiled. "That's it. You look so much like your father."

_Father._

_-Medusa!" Grover finished his bleat. "Get down! Don't look into her eyes!" I was frozen for a second, then I was diving down, pulling Annabeth with me._

Suddenly, my head was clear. The flashback was gone, out of my grasp just like the other ones, but I knew. Aunty Em. Aunty M. Medusa.

"Guys!" I yelled. "She's Medusa! Get down!"

Dee and West stared at me, shocked.

"Not again!" Aunty Em sounded outraged. "No, Persssssseusss Jackssssson, not thissss time!" Her voice had turned into a hiss. Snakes were sprouting out of her curly hair.

"Down!" I repeated, then pulled West and Dee down. "Don't look into her eyes!"

"Persssssy," Medusa hissed. "I _will _get your sssssstatue thisss time!"

"I'm not Percy!" I yelled at her. "When will you get that through your head!"

"Just like your father," she laughed. "Sssso sssssstubborn."

I turned and ran.

West and Dee were hot on my heels, panting. "Look what you've done, Dee!" West yelled at her. "This is all your fault!"

"Says the guy that was stuffing his face with burgers and fries!" Dee yelled back.

"Guys!" I interrupted. "Stop bickering! We're running for our lives here, and all you can do is argue with each other?"

"Don't run, little heroessss," Medusa hissed from behind us. "You are asss good asssss mine."

We were at the door. We could make it. I threw my hand onto the knob and tugged, but it didn't budge. I pulled harder, harder.

"Don't bother, Persseusss. It'ssss locked."

I gave a curse, then turned and pulled out riptide, focusing my gaze on the floor. "Guys, think! Do any of you guys remember how Perseus defeated Medusa?"

"Shield," Dee said automatically. "He used a shield that he got from Hermes, so he could look at Medusa's reflection while fighting her."

"Nerd," West muttered.

"Any of you guys have a shield?" I asked desperately. I could see Medusa's feet, walking towards us slowly, enjoying this.

They were silent.

"Godsdammit!" I cursed. "Nobody has a shield?"

"I have a dagger and a bow and arrows, and West has a sword as well, Chance. We've got no shield." Dee sounded brave, but I heard how her voice trembled at the end. "How are we going to defeat her when we can't even look at her?"

"We're going to have to try," West said. "It we're going to go down, at least go down fighting."

"What about a mirror?" I asked. "Anyone got a mirror?"

They both shook their heads.

"Forget it, Perssseusss." Medusa sounded pleased with herself. "That filthy sssspawn of Athena isssn't here to sssave you thisss time."

"I got this." Dee murmured, more to herself than us. She strung up her bow, then fired in the general direction of Medusa. I heard the sound of an arrow embedding itself in something, and for a second, my heart lifted.

"Nice ssshot," Medusa laughed. "If you were aiming for a tree."

Dee strung up another arrow, looking determined. She fired over and over again, but Medusa laughed each time. "I'm ssssick of thissss. I ssshall kill you slowly, daughter of Apollo. And you too, son of Hadessss. But you, Perssssy Jackssssson, I have ssssomething very sspecial planned for you."

"I'm not Percy Jackson." I knew it was suicide, but I ran at her, doing my best to judge her location by staring at her feet. I'd rather die than end up as one of her statues.

I slashed at her, and she jumped aside easily, dodging my blow. The next thing I knew, Riptide was flying out of my hand. I didn't even know that she had struck out at my arm.

"Pathetic without your ssssight, huh, little hero?" I felt her hand on my chin, trying to tip up my head. I flailed my arm, then got a lucky shot, striking her forearm. She let go, and I stumbled back. An arrow whizzed past my head, and Medusa cursed as it hit her. It must not have been critical, though, because I heard her pull it out.

I saw the movement of her arm, saw her throwing it back. Dee cried out in pain, and I turned around, my eyes wide. "Dee?"

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Dee muttered, then pulled the arrow out of her side, gasping. Blood was pooling out.

"Dee!" West looked shocked. "Dee, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Dee winced, holding her side.

"Oh Gods," West sounded horrified. He touched the edge of Dee's wound, being uncharacteristically gentle. "Dee..."

Suddenly, a hand latched onto the back of my shirt. I swore, trying to slash at it with Riptide, but it was hard to reach my back with a sword.

"Finally," Medusa hissed with triumph. "I've been waiting forever for thissss day, Perssseuss."

"I'm not Percy!" I insisted, struggling as she dragged me back and slammed me against the trunk of a tree. The tree's shadow fell on me, and it was almost blissfully cool. It would have been nice, if I wasn't about to be turned into a statue. I focused my eyes over her shoulder, on Dee and West, turning my head as far away from her eyes as possible.

Dee was lying on the ground now, her face pale, West supporting her. Blood was still oozing out of her wound, and West fumbled out a first-aid kit from his yellow duffel bag. He got out a bandage, attempting to wrap it around Dee's midsection. His hands shook so badly that the bandage fell to the ground. Impatiently, Dee knocked his hands aside, then wrapped up her own wound. West took out some ambrosia and nectar, and for a second, he looked like he wanted to feed Dee, but then he thought better of it and handed the ambrosia squares along with the canteen of nectar to her.

I obviously wasn't getting any help from them. It hadn't seemed like it before, but now it was painfully obvious that West had a thing for Dee.

"Look at me." Medusa hissed. "You will have to ssssooner or later. Look at what that your pathetic little girlfriend'sssss mom did to me."

"For the last time," I gasped for breath as Medusa wrapped her hands around my throat. "I'm not Percy Jackson!"

"It doesn't matter," she said dismissively. "Ssssoon you will be a ssssstatue, and I will finally have a reminder of your father."

She grabbed my face, her nails digging uncomfortably into my cheek. I struggled, but she was strong. Slowly but surely, she was turning my face.

"Just give it up already," she hissed. "Turn your Godsss damn face, Perssseuss."

She gave a wrench, and my head turned of its own accord. I tried to focus on her lips- which were blood-red and full, proving that she had once been beautiful- but she stuck a finger under my chin, pushing my head up. Her nose...the edges of her eyelashes...

I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, and just then, Medusa gave a cry of alarm. I peeled one eye open a crack, watching her legs. Medusa was backing away from me. And then she screamed, a blood-curdling cry of pain and vengeance.

"Nooo! Not again! No! I was supposed to win thisss time!"

There was another pair of legs there now, seeming to have come out of nowhere. It was a guy, wearing black cargo pants. I didn't dare look up for fear of seeing Medusa's eyes, but I heard her scream again, and then there was a swish and a dull thud, and Medusa's legs evaporated into yellow powder.

And then it was quiet. The silence was extremely loud after Medusa's horrible screeching.

I looked up slowly, at the guy who had saved me. I gave a double take. He was skinny kid, who was obviously younger than me. Pale skin, black hair, black eyes. He was holding a dagger in one hand, and a sword in the other. The dagger's surface was as shiny and clear as a mirror, and I realized that it was Piper's. _Katoptris_, she had called it.

And there was Medusa's head, lying face down in the dirt.

"Nico?" I asked in disbelief.

"That's me." He gave a wry smile. "It's nice that I'm finally saving _you _for a change, Per- I mean, Chance."

I frowned at him. "I don't even know you. And as far as I know, I've never saved you."

Nico shrugged. "As far as you know."

I opened my mouth to reply, but just then, I heard West give a startled yelp. "Oh Gods, Chance! I'm so sorry!" Suddenly, he was there, Dee leaning slightly on his shoulder. "I can't believe I forgot about you-oh Gods, you could've died!"

"Nah, it's okay. I'm alive, aren't I?" I gave him a sly smile. "And I don't blame you, considering you're totally hot for her."

I broke off into a series of loud coughs, and the tips of West's ears turned bright red.

Dee looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"Medusa-" I said between coughs, laughing. "West has it hot for Medusa."

"Shut up, man!" West gave me a shove, but I could see the hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "I do _not _have it hot for Medusa."

Dee shook her head, sighing. "Boys." Then she looked over at Nico, a questioning look on her face. "What are you doing here?"

He looked sheepish. "Ah, um, I've been kind of- following you guys."

West and I stopped bickering, turning to look at Nico. "What?"

"I, uh-" He looked at me. "I was just checking something."

"Checking something?" I repeated.

"Making sure that you didn't die on your quest." He said, still looking carefully at me. "That would've been bad."

West frowned. "Why are you so interested in Chance?"

"Does it really matter? If I wasn't following you guys, he'd be dead by now." Nico evaded the question. "When I saw you guys come in here, I knew it was _bad. _I shadow-traveled back to Camp Half-blood right away and grabbed the first reflective surface I could find-which reminds me, I should probably IM Piper and tell her I have her dagger-and even then, I almost didn't get back here in time. Another few minutes, and Per-Chance would have been turned to stone."

I frowned at him. "Why do you keep calling me Percy?"

Nico waved a hand dismissively. "Old habits. You look like him." His voice was surprisingly devoid of emotion, not filled with grief like everyone else's when they talked about Percy. I narrowed my eyes. Once again, I had the overwhelming feeling that Nico was hiding something.

Before I could ask, though, he was talking again. "We should probably get back to New York now. We'll use a much more reliable method of travel this time."

"What is-" West began to ask, but he was interrupted by a huge black dog, leaping out of the shadows. It had blood-red eyes, and a huge gaping mouth filled with rows and rows of sharp teeth.

"Holy Hades!" I pulled out Riptide. "Where did that hellhound come from?"

"Calm down, Per-Chance." Nico shook his head, sighing. "I've got to stop calling you Percy."

"Yeah, you do." I glowered at him.

"Don't worry, though." Nico nodded at the hellhound, and it sat, its pink tongue lolling out of its mouth. "That's Miss O'Leary. She's a hellhound, but she's friendly. She can shadow travel, and she'll get us to New York much faster than a bunch of unreliable pegasi."

"Are you _sure _she's safe?" I eyed the huge black hellhound.

"Positive. Especially with you here."

"What?" I asked, confused. Just then, though, Miss O'Leary leaped up and bounded over to me. I cringed automatically, but she gave me a friendly bark-it sounded like a thousand artillery guns and reverberated throughout the greenhouse-and licked my face, leaving behind a trail of hellhound slobber.

"See? She remembers-I mean, she likes you." Nico said.

I frowned at him, then opened my mouth to ask what he had meant by Miss O'Leary remembering me, but Nico was already talking again, cutting me off. "Everyone, get on her back. She'll get us to New York in no time."

The four us climbed onto Miss O'Leary's back, Dee already returning to her nimble self. The ambrosia and nectar must've done its job. Even though, West still gave her an unnecessary hand, pulling her up beside him.

"Now," Nico said, "Let's go find Annabeth."

_With a cheer, the campers tossed us into the lake. They were all waiting up there for us, but when you're a son of Poseidon, you have plenty of time. I created an air bubble, wrapping it around the two of us. Annabeth gave me a grin, her gray eyes shining and her blonde hair drifting about her. She pulled me close,touching her lips to mine. And it was the best underwater kiss of all time._

I blinked. What was that? Annabeth...kissing _me_? What? Then-and I was almost expecting it-the memory floated away, out of my reach, gone into the parts of my brain that held all the memories that I had but just couldn't access. I reached for it desperately, but it was gone. I couldn't remember. Something about water?

I shook my head, sighing. Maybe when we found Annabeth, she would know something about me, something about my past.

"Yeah," I said. "Let's go find Annabeth."

And with that, Miss O'Leary plunged into the shadow of the tree, the four of us on her back, heading for the blonde-haired, gray-eyed girl that I hoped would finally give me some answers.

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**I just thought I should probably let you know-the insert parts, the flashbacks, they're not word-for-word from the books. Unfortunately(VERY UNFORTUNATELY) I don't have the books... so I don't know the exact words and stuff, but the content is just about right, I think.**

**Anyway, I'm going to hold out for at least 47 reviews before I update. That's twelve reviews...not too bad, you guys can do it! (and if I get even more than 47...I'll update SUPERLIGHTSPEED fast, haha :)**

**~BurningAngel**


	7. Chapter 6

**Okay. So I know I promised to update super-light-speed-fast(55 reviews! Yay!), and it's been like, a month. I'm really, really sorry, but I've hardly had access to a computer.**

**I really shouldn't even be on here, final exams are coming up, but I feel like I owe it to you guys to update. :)**

**And to those of you who are asking if Percy will get his memories back, yes, yes he will. Not for a while, though. After he finds Annabeth(soon, be patient!), he will get them back bit by bit, everytime he sees something familiar.**

**Anyway, enjoy. :D**

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Shadow-traveling was a weird experience. It was disorinting, and even though I could swear to Zeus that we hadn't moved an inch, the next thing I knew, Ms. O'Leary was stepping out of the shadows of an alley. It seemed familiar, and I thought I was going to have another one of those flashbacks, but then I realized that this was the same alley that we had flown over on our pegasi.

"Here we are," Nico announced. "New York City."

The four of us sat in awkward silence for a few minutes.

"So." West cleared his throat. "What's our next move?"

"Well, we're looking for Annabeth, right?" Dee asked.

West nodded, then looked at me. "So, Chance, how do we find her?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"The prophecy said you knew where she was."

"I don't even know my last name! How in Hades am I supposed to find a girl I've never even met?"

West shrugged. "Beats me."

"Well, okay. Let's start with this." Nico looked at me. "Chance, what does Annabeth look like?"

"Why don't you tell me? You're the only one who's actually met her."

Nico sighed. "Blonde hair, gray eyes. Smart, pretty, funny, athletic. Possibly the most dangerous thing on the planet when angered. Ring a bell?"

"Not really."

Nico looked frustrated. "Okay. How about this." He walked Ms. O'Leary to the very front of the alley, where the darkness merged into the bright daylight of the street. "Which way do we go?"

I looked to both ends of the street. It was noisy and bustling with people and traffic, all completely oblivious to the four teenagers riding on the back of a huge black dog. The right end was the city center, with huge skyscrapers and loud, noisy people walking up and down the sidewalks. The empire state building rose up above the line of the horizon, the setting sun illuminating it from the back.

The left end led to the slightly quieter area of the city, down by the coast. There were still huge buildings, but it looked more people-friendly, and less like a place where accountants would spend their days.

"Uh, I want to go towards the left end, but that's probably just me."

"Okay. Left end it is." Nico slid off Ms. O'Leary's back.

"It's probably just me-"

"I don't think so."

I sighed. "Nico, why are you so convinced that I'm going to know where Annabeth is? I know the prophecy said so, but prophecies are wrong sometimes, right?"

Nico looked up at me, his black eyes unfathomable. "Prophecies are never wrong. They never have been, and they never will be."

"But West said-"

"Left end." Nico's tone clearly stated that he wasn't going to budge about this.

With an uncertain glance behind me at West, I slid off of Ms. O'Leary as well. She panted as my feet touched the ground and gave my face a lick.

"Thanks, girl." Nico patted her head as West and Dee dismounted.

Ms. O'Leary gave a soft bark, then melted into the shadows, leaving the four of us alone in the alley.

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

We walked along the sidewalk, and it seemed that everywhere we went, there was something that I could swear I recognized. Even the buildings themselves were familiar, like coming back to a place where I had grown up. I just about threw up my hands in frustration at the feeling of deja vu when we passed an electronics store. _Gabe's Electronics, _I made out.

_Smelly Gabe_, I added to myself, then frowned. Smelly Gabe? What kind of nickname was that? It sounded like something that a twelve-year-old would come up with.

"Chance!"

I looked up, startled. Dee was motioning frantically to me. I followed where she was pointing, and up ahead, I could see a little girl with strawberry-blonde pigtails, running down the street, tears spilling down her cheeks as she glanced behind her, over and over again, as if she was being chased.

"Help!" She cried out. "Please, anyone, help me!"

The people on the street all glanced at her, worried, and some even looked like they were about to head over there. As soon as they looked to see what was chasing her, though, they all sighed, shook their heads, and returned to what they were doing.

I don't know what they were seeing, but it obviously wasn't the huge lion-goat thing that was running after her. It had a snake for a tail, and it was hissing and coiling itself around and around.

"We've got to go help her!" I ran forwards, but Nico pulled me back.

"Chance, that's a _Chimera."_

"So?"

"It breathes fire. So stay away from its mouth."

I looked at the creature. "Which one? The snake, the goat, or the lion?"

"All three."

"They all breath fire?"

"No." Nico made a face. "I don't remember. I think it's the lion, but I'm not completely sure..."

"Okay. So stay away from their mouths. Is that it?"

"Yeah. Be careful, okay?"

"Got it. Thanks."

I uncapped Riptide and ran into the street, my friends at my heels. I waved my arms to get the Chimera's attention.

"Hey! You ugly lion-goat-snake thing! Over here!"

The little girl looked up, startled, her eyes a soft blue, like the color of the summer sky. Her mouth dropped open, and she started gesturing frantically at the Chimera behind her, as if somehow we couldn't see the huge thing stomping around in the middle of the street.

I gestured to her too. "Hurry! Come on! We'll help you!"

The Chimera looked up, all three heads pointed my way, and then let out a huge burst of fire out of the lion mouth.

With a cry, the little girl ran faster, almost tripping a couple of times as she dashed towards us. Cars honked and drivers yelled obscenities, but she didn't slow.

The Chimera gave an enraged roar and started to lope after her. Its stomps shook the street and the little girl tripped on her untied shoelace and fell forwards. Before I could do anything, though, a skeleton rose out of the ground and caught her in its arms. I looked at Nico, who nodded at me.

The girl gave a frightened shriek and started to thrash around. "No! Let me go! Let me go!"

"It's alright!" I called to her. "It won't hurt you!"

She looked up at me, unconvinced, stopping her struggles in the process. The skeleton took advantage of this and started carrying her over towards us, with huge, long strides.

Seeing its food getting away, the Chimera picked up speed as well.

"Can it go any faster, Nico?"

"I'll try." Nico stared at the skeleton, looking like he was concentrating very hard.

It must've worked, because immediatly, the skeleton started to sprint.

It reached us well ahead of the Chimera, and I gave a sigh of relief as it set the little girl down safely in front of us and melted back into the earth.

"Who are you?" The little girl looked up at us, her eyes wide.

"It's alright, you're safe now." I bent down to look at her, keeping one eye on the Chimera, still stomping towards us. "What's your name?"

"Ivy." She gave me a huge, bright smile. "You can see the monster-thing too, right?"

"Yeah. We'll make sure it doesn't hurt you." She giggled as I picked her up and handed her over to Dee.

"Dee, take her into an alley, okay?"

"Alright." Dee took Ivy into her arms. "Be careful, guys."

Dee went back the way we came and West glanced at me. "You know this is none of our buisness now, right? We can just take off and go somewhere else. We don't have to fight it."

"We can't just let it destroy the city."

West sighed. "You've got such a hero complex, Chance. At least Dee's safe."

"Right. You-"

I was interrupted by a huge wall of flame, shooting out of the Chimera's mouth. It was on us now. I threw myself onto the ground and felt the top of my hair fry. Skeleton warriors rose out of the ground beside me, carrying swords and shields and throwing themselves at the monster like they were suicidal. Which techincally was impossible, because they were already dead.

I got up as soon as the flames cleared, and now that I was seeing the Chimera face to face, I seemed to remember it from somewhere. It seemed to remember me, too. With a roar of rage, it charged straight at me.

I jumped out of the way just in time and stabbed Riptide into the folds of its neck. My sword glanced right off though, and I had a distant memory of a girl with gray eyes telling me something about the Chimera being killed by melting lead. The girl shook her head at me and gave me a small smile. I wanted to remember more of her, but she was gone, and right now definetly wasn't the time.

The Chimera turned back on me, but then West was there, stabbing at its body. His sword glanced off, too, just like mine. The Chimera whipped its snake tail at him, annoyed. Its fangs missed West's neck by mere centimeters.

The skeleton warriors were fighting, too, dropping like flies but new ones replacing them just as quickly. Nico was beginning to look slightly strained, his face getting paler than usual.

"We're not even scathing it!" West shouted at me, ducking under the lion's jaws as it snapped at him.

"I remember something about it being killed by lead!"

"Great." West slashed at the goat head. "Now all we have to do is find a block of lead lying in the street."

The goat head gave a loud bray, then turned away from West, attempting to head-butt me. I blocked with Riptide just in time, and its horns screeched as they hit the celestial bronze of my sword.

The other heads were outraged. The lion blew fire at me, and I had to duck. Still, I wasn't fast enough, and the fire sizzled through my t-shirt, burning my chest.

"Ah!" I nearly dropped Riptide.

"Chance!" I heard Nico call out. "You okay?"

"Yeah." I dropped and rolled, wincing. "It got me with fire. Too bad the ocean is too far away, would have been nice to rain on his parade a little."

The Chimera tried to step on me, but I quickly rolled up, stabbing my sword at its paw. Of course, it only glanced off. Nico was suddenly there, and he impaled his sword into the creature's eye. It gave a wail of agony and the goat head chomped down on Nico's arm. He cried out, then pulled it away quickly, ripping his black jacket. Golden ichor seeped out of the wound.

I stared at him.

"Limited immortality," he muttered. "All the seven, well, six, plus me, got it after the Giant War."

"This isn't working!" West yelled. "We can't keep going like this forever! It's going to get us eventually!"

I couldn't answer, hitting the ground to avoid another batch of fire. The lion snapped its jaws at me, and even though I blocked with Riptide, his teeth still tore through my shorts, scratching my leg. The snake head hissed at the lion head's triumpth, and shot forwards, fangs out, right towards my thigh.

A skeleton warrior interfered just in time, and the snake latched onto one of its arm bones. It tried to stab its dagger into the snake's head, but the lion head chomped its spine clean in half, and it crumpled to the ground, slowly absorbing back into the earth.

"Hey, guys! It's over here!" I heard a cry from far off. It was a male voice, not Nico or West.

I glanced quickly at the source of the voice, confused. It was a group of teenagers, running towards us. They were all dressed in ratty clothes, holding mismatched weapons, some imperial gold, some celestial bronze. The guy at the front with the sandy-colored hair had a cheese wheel impaled on his sword.

"Why in Hades does that guy have a block of cheese?" West demanded, ducking away from the snake head.

"Beats me," I muttered.

"Hey! You idiots!" The guy called out. "Get away from that Chimera!"

"Couldn't possibly be happier to," West called back, then backed away. The Chimera ignored him, its beady eyes focused on me. It seemed to have something against me.

Luckily, though, just then the teenagers reached us. They surrounded the Chimera almost immediatly, cutting off its view of me.

"Aw, poor thing." The guy teased. "Where's Echinda? What happened to her? Oh yeah, that's right. We killed her. She's in _tartartus._"

The Chimera roared, rearing up and getting ready to incinerate the guy. I flinched automatically, but, just then, the guy shoved the cheese wheel into its mouth. The Chimera looked very surprised, the jet of fire it had prepared still shooting out around the cheese. When it cleared, a bunch of melted, gooey cheese was oozing out of its mouth.

It gagged, its eyes widening. It coughed and hacked a couple of times, then choked and collapsed on the ground. It blew away like sand in the wind, leaving behind a blob of melted cheese.

It was possibly the weirdest thing that I had ever seen.

West's eyes were popping out of their sockets. "Holy Hades."

The guy shrugged, not looking at him. "Traditionally, the Chimera died when it choked on a block of melting lead, but its not like we would be able to find a block of lead, so we had to improvise."

West swallowed. "I see."

"Where's the girl?" The guy glanced up the street. "Is she alright? She ran away when we killed Echinda."

"Oh, do you know her?" I asked.

"No, but she'd be safe with us. It's a dangerous world out here."

"Wait." Nico stepped in. "Are you guys half-bloods?"

The guy snorted. "Sure. I guess." He turned to look at us, finally, his gaze disapproving. His eyes were unsettling, a flat shade of gold. "Are you guys from Long Island?"

"Uh, yeah." West said. "Camp Half-Blood."

The guy sighed. "Yeah, I thought so. A bunch of dumbasses trying to kill a Chimera with swords and corpses. I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"Who are you, anyway?" West challenged.

He glanced at West. "I'm Braden."

"Just Braden?"

"Just Braden."

"Who's your godly parent?"

Braden rolled his eyes. "What is this? An interragation? I don't have a godly parent."

West looked confused. "But you said-"

"The gods don't give a damn about us, unlike with _you_ guys. Their precious little babies, aren't you? Saving the world for them and getting nothing in return but an early, painful demise."

"Who the Hades do you think you are?" West looked at him darkly. For the first time, I was seeing a hint of Nemesis in him. "You don't talk to us like that."

"I can talk to you however I want." Braden hit his sword on the ground, and the blade snapped off. I was startled, but Braden nonchalantly put the hilt into his pocket.

"Guys?" Dee came out of an alley hesitantly, holding Ivy, who was staring at us with her eyes wide. "What's going on? Who's this?"

"Braden." West said. "Just Braden."

Dee looked at him. "Uh, hi. I'm Dee. Daughter of Apollo."

Braden barely acknowledged her, instead going forwards to look at Ivy. He bent down, and she cowered into Dee's chest.

"Aw, it's okay." Braden gave her a smile, the first one I'd seen him give all day. "I'm Braden. We were trying to help you, remember? What's your name?"

"Ivy," she said shyly.

"Would you like to come with us?" He asked. "We'll protect you and make sure you're safe."

Ivy looked as if she was about to reply, but I butted in. "Hey, you guys can't just take her. If it wasn't for us, she'd be Chimera chow right now. And you say you're going to protect her? I don't believe you."

Braden looked up at me, his eyes dark. "So what do you want me to do? Leave her here with you incapable idiots?"

"She would be better with us." Dee said with a glance at Braden. "At least we would be able to teach her about being kind to others."

"We'll fight you for her, if you insist," West said, crossing him arms. I couldn't help but feel like he was trying to impress Dee.

Braden stared at us for a few moments, and then shook his head.

"Whatever. Guys, let's go." Braden turned away from us. "These idiots aren't worth our time."

The group of demigods-or whatever they were-stared at us for a second, their gazes hostile. Then, with an air of superiority, they turned away, following Braden. We watched them retreat, their backs fading into the distance.

"Wait!" Nico suddenly called, stepping up. They didn't slow their pace, still steadily leaving us behind. "We're looking for someone! Do you know her?"

They didn't respond, and I deliberated telling Nico to give it up. "Annabeth! The daughter of Athena!" He yelled. "Do you know a girl named Annabeth?

As soon as Annabeth's name was said, Braden froze, his foot up in midair. The rest of them stopped as well, and uncertain murmurs broke out. Braden turned around slowly, a slight frown on his face.

"Annabeth." He whispered. "Annabeth Chase?"

"Yeah." Nico looked triumphant. "Where is she? Is she with you gu-"

Braden looked at us, his eyes flat. "I don't know _how _you guys know her, because she doesn't interact with people like you, but I want you to stay far, far away from her. She wants nothing to do with you."

"What?" Nico's dark eyes were blazing with anger. "What is it to you? She should be able to make her own choices. Who is she to you, anyway?"

"She's my girlfriend," Braden said, crossing his arms.

"What?" Nico faltered, his eyes going wide. He looked absolutely horrified. I felt like my heart had just been ripped out of my chest and smashed into a billion little pieces, and I had no idea why. I didn't even know the girl.

Nico blinked at Braden. "But...what?"

"Annabeth. Annabeth Chase is my girlfriend."

* * *

**Cliffy!**

**I'm sorry, you guys probably hate me right now :P.**

**Anyway, I'm sorry about that(I really am! Sorry Percy!), but I promise that this story is Percabeth. Just need to be patient. I know for a fact that if Percy ever did die(Gods forbid), Annabeth wouldn't be able to move on that fast. Don't worry, Annabeth isn't dating Braden because she loves him. All will be revealed in later chapters...**

**I would like to hear some guesses as to why Annabeth would be dating Braden, so hit me with them ;)! Next week, I'll tell you guys which one was closest, so then you at least have a hint.**

**Annabeth coming up next chapter! Leave me a review, and it will be up in no time(hopefully :)!**

**~BurningAngel**


	8. Chapter 7

**Ah it's been so long I'm sorry. It's summer and I think I've gone a little too crazy :3. I don't even remember what I wrote last chapter... just one sec, I'm gonna go check... **

**Ah, yes. That cliffy. Okay. Also, a few of you were close to guessing why Annabeth is dating Braden. He didn't force her or anything, she made the decision herself. That should give you a hint ;)**

**And now... what you've all been waiting for... finally, Annabeth! :)**

* * *

"What?" Nico choked out.

"I said, Annabeth is my girlfriend." Braden glared at Nico. "What, you have a problem with that?"

"I-" Nico shook his head, speechless.

"What the hell do you want with her, anyway?" Braden crossed his arms. "If you want to take her back to that Camp Half-blood of yours, she's not interested."

I shared an uncertain look with Nico. He cleared his throat and turned back to Braden. "We just want to talk to her."

"Well, she doesn't want to talk to you."

"How do you know?" West asked angrily.

Braden met West's eyes steadily. "She doesn't want anything to do with you idiots from Camp Half-blood anymore. So just leave, and stay away from us."

Braden turned away, shaking his head. He gestured to the crowd of teenagers surrounding him, and they gave us all withering glares before turning away. They put away their weapons reluctantly as they left, as if they had been looking forwards to a fight.

The four of us, plus Ivy, watched their retreating figures in silence.

"Well." Dee muttered. "Looks like we found Annabeth."

"Why the Hades would she be hanging out with people like that?" Nico frowned.

"What are we going to do now?" I asked.

"We should probably send Ivy back to Camp Half-blood before anything else," Dee said.

"Yeah." West took out a drachma. "I'll Iris-message someone from camp to come pick her up."

"What's Camp Half-blood?" Ivy asked suddenly, looking at us with wide eyes.

"It's just like a summer camp," Dee said to her. "But you'll be safe there. No more monsters will be chasing after you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really." Dee smiled. "That boy over there who rescued you is Chance, and that's Nico. West is over there, talking to that girl through the rainbow mist. Don't worry, Ivy. We'll keep you safe."

Ivy nodded. "Okay." Her eyes started to water, and she bit her lip, as if trying not to cry.

"Ivy, what's wrong?" Dee asked gently.

"I-it's-" Ivy choked, a single tear spilling out of her eye.

I knelt down so I was level with her. "It's okay. You can tell us."

"D-Daddy." She blubbered. "He's still back in our house, and I need to find him before he gets worried. And my brother. I-I don't know where he is."

"Oh no." Dee looked worried. "What happened?"

"Well-" Ivy took a deep breath. "Daddy was planting some roses in the backyard, and me and my brother Daniel were helping him water the flowers. Everything was fine, Daniel and I were playing, and he kept squirting me with the hose and getting me all wet." She pronouced all like _aw._

"Then our fence broke! That big lion-snake-goat thing came crashing through. I started to scream, but I shouldn't have! Daddy and Daniel got really worried, and then they started talking grown-up talk. They said something about a camp too!"

"Is your brother a grown-up?" Dee asked.

Ivy considered this. "No. I don't think so. Almost. Maybe. He's really big, like the size of him." Ivy pointed to Nico. "He used to go away to sleepover camp in the summer, and I really really missed him. I begged and begged him to please please stay this summer, and I shouldn't have, because now-now-" Ivy broke off, starting to cry again.

"Shh. It's okay." Dee said. "Continue with your story."

"So-" Ivy hiccuped. "Daddy told me not to move, and he was going to run inside to grab the keys to our car, and then he left, and it was just me and Daniel, and he pulled out this-this knife-thingy. It was all gold and glowy and I was scared. Then this really fat woman came, and she had a weird snake tongue and slitted eyes. She started talking about how me and my brother had no fighting chance, and she said that the Time Lord and Mother Earth would rise. I was really confused, and then this snake-lady just came up and grabbed Daniel and disappered!"

"What about your dad?" Nico asked. "What happened to him?"

Ivy shook her head. "I don't know! The lion-snake-goat thing blew fire at our house, and it blew up! I wanted to wait for Daddy to come out, but the thing was coming after me, so I ran away. I kept looking back but he didn't come out and the whole house was on fire and I don't know what happened to him! Maybe he got stuck in our house. I have to go back and find him, he must have been mad when he went outside and didn't see me!"

The three of us looked at each other. We all knew that Ivy's dad wasn't waiting for her back at their house. There was almost no doubt that he had burnt to death in the fire. But you couldn't exactly tell a little girl that her father was dead.

"Jason's on his way." West was there suddenly, saving us from having to answer Ivy. "He should be here in three minutes. Meanwhile, we have to decide what we're going to do next."

"We have to talk to Annabeth." Nico answered immediatly. "We can't just take Braden's word that she doesn't want anything to do with us. We need her. Or we're all screwed."

"But how are we going to get to her?" Dee asked. "Braden's obviously not going to take us to her."

"Maybe he will." I muttered. Immediatly, everyone turned to look at me. "I mean, maybe he's not going to _willingly _take us, but wherever she is, if they're dating, then they're going to be together, right? So if we can find Braden's home or camp or whatever, then we'll find her."

There was a moment of silence.

"See?" Nico grinned at me. "This is why you're on this quest, man."

"Wait." Dee set Ivy down on the ground. "So what you're saying is that we follow Braden?"

"Exactly."

Dee looked down the street. "Well, we're going to have a hard time with that, because I can't even see him and his crowd anymore."

We followed her gaze, and she was right. Braden was gone.

I began to curse, but caught myself just in time at a stern glance from Dee. She gestured meaningfully at Ivy. _Sorry, _I mouthed.

"Jason's here." West said. "If we hurry, maybe we can still catch up with Braden and them."

I looked up to the sky, and sure enough, a dark cloud was moving towards us. If I squinted, I could just make out the shape of a horse in the cloud, and a blonde-haired boy wearing a purple t-shirt riding on its back.

"Woah. That's Jason?"

"Yep." West grinned at me. "Son of Jupiter. He sure knows how to _electrify _people, huh?"

"No way." Dee mock-punched him. "Don't start with the puns, West. Just because it works for Leo doesn't mean it works for you. He has the whole saviour-of-the-world thing going for him."

"Okay, okay. My bad." West looked sheepish.

"That is one badass steed, though," I muttered.

"You should've seen Percy back in his day, water swirling all around him, slicing monsters to pieces with Riptide," Nico said. "Now that, was badass."

The cloud-horse hovered in the air above us for a moment, then dropped down to the ground. The horse was even more impressive up close, snorting and tossing its head, lightning woven into its mane. Jason hopped off its back, and when he looked up at us, I had a distant pang of recognition.

_Naturally, I was going to sit in the head chair. But when I sat down, Jason was suddenly there too, mirroring my pose, about to sit down as well. The two of us stared at each other for a moment, and I didn't know what to think. I was so used to leading quests and people asking me what to do that it had become a habit now. This, however, was childish. We both turned away at the same time, offering the head chair to Annabeth._

The flashback lingered in my head longer than usual, and when it faded away, it left behind a pounding headache. The flashbacks were becoming more longer and prominent now, and I had no idea what to think.

"Hey, Jason." Nico greeted him, and the two of them man-hugged each other.

"So, this is Chance." Nico said when they pulled apart.

"Hey." Jason turned to look at me, and his eyes bugged out of his head before he pulled himself together and nodded at me.

Annoyance flickered across my features. I was so sick of this. Why did I have to look so much like Percy Jackson?

Nico gestured to Ivy. "This is Ivy."

Ivy looked at Jason shyly, hiding behind Dee's leg.

"Hi there, Ivy." Jason gave her a kind smile. "It's okay.I'm going to take you back to Camp Half-blood, so monsters won't chase you anymore."

Ivy nodded, taking a hesitant step out from behind Dee. She looked back at her, then looked to Jason. "What about Daddy?"

"Don't worry." Dee said gently. "We'll find him for you."

"Really?" Ivy's eyes lit up. I felt discomfort twist in my stomach.

"Really." Dee looked just as uncomfortable as I felt.

"And Daniel?"

"We'll look for him. I promise."

"Okay."

"Do you want to ride on Tempest?" Jason asked.

Ivy looked at the horse, her eyes widening. She nodded eagerly, her pigtails bobbing up and down.

"Come on." Jason held out his hand. Ivy hesitated for a second, then ran to him, giggling as he hoisted her onto Tempest.

"Thanks, Jason." Nico said to him.

"No problem." He swung himself onto Tempest's back. "Good luck with finding Annabeth."

With that, Jason took off into the sky, leaving behind a trail of flashing lightning as he headed back to Camp Half-blood.

"I can't believe Piper can complain about anything with him around," Dee muttered.

"Aw, come on, Dee." West said. "He's too perfect. It's kind of intimidating."

"I guess."

"Are you guys going to stand around and chat or are we going to find Braden before he disappears completely?" I asked.

"Right." Dee said.

We started off down the street at a run, staying in the shadows of buildings. We had jogged maybe two hundred meters when Dee sighed, a long, slow exhale.

"What's wrong?" West asked.

"I just feel so bad for Ivy. I don't know how we're going to tell her that her dad's dead."

"Oh, that reminds me," I said, still running. "Her brother. Daniel. She said that he went to camp. Do any of you guys know him?"

"Doesn't ring a bell," Dee shook her head.

"He's a son of Arcus," Nico said.

"Arcus?"

"Arcus is Roman. I've seen a guy named Daniel at Camp Jupiter. He looks a lot like Ivy, blonde hair, sky-blue eyes. I don't think he's ever went to Camp Half-blood."

"Arcus." I muttered. "Which god is he?"

"_She_," Nico corrected. "Iris."

"Oh. Sorry Iris," I said sheepishly to the sky.

"If you messed up Zeus' gender, he would've blasted you to a pulp," West turned to grin at me.

"Wait, guys, shut up for a second," Nico hissed.

We all simulously stopped, and I almost crashed into West in the process.

"What's up?" Dee whispered.

"Look up there." Nico inclined his chin.

I looked, just in time to see the back of someone's head disappearing into an alleyway. "They're up ahead," I realized.

"We have to be really stealthy now," Nico whispered. "If they see us, we're screwed."

We crept up to the alley and peered inside. It smelt like mildew, but Braden and the crowd of teenagers were definetly up there. The alley was lined with crates, so that made following them a lot easier.

We slid behind the first crate, then made our way forwards, trying to be as silent as possible. In the dark of the alley, though, I couldn't see anything. I accidently stepped on West's heel, and he let out a small yelp.

Immediatly, the girl at the back of the group whipped around, scanning the alley. Her eyes glinted in the dark, a fiery amber color. We all ducked our heads quickly behind the crates, and after a while, she turned back around and continued on.

We had turned right twice and turned left once when a building loomed in front of us. It was black in the dark of the alley, and after much effort, I made out the sign above the door. _Campbell's. _I was confused for a second, but then I realized it was an old canned soup factory. The windows were all boarded up, but I could still see slivers of light peeking out beneath the wooden boards.

I just managed to make out Braden, his sandy-colored hair the only part of his face that was visible. He walked up to the door, then knocked three times, then twice, then once.

There was a pause, and then the door opened. The person on the other side of the door said something unintelligable, and handed Braden a crate. He nodded and tucked it under his arm. The crowd of people went inside one by one, until only Braden was left outside. He moved to stack the crate, and the four of us glanced at each other, wide-eyed. If Braden came over here, he would see us.

Before we could move, though, there was a shout.

"Braden! Watch out!" It was a female voice, coming from the door. It was still open, and the girl with the amber eyes was the one who had just shouted at him.

Braden turned around, dropping the crate, and I saw a huge, dark shape and two pairs of glowing red eyes leap straight at him. He ducked just in time, and rolled under the hellhound as it landed exactly where he had been moments before. He pulled out the hilt of his sword, and then a celestial bronze blade started to grow, first into a dagger, then longer and longer until it was a sword.

"Amelia!" He shouted. "Close the door!"

"No!" She yelled back. "Just wait! I called for backup!"

The hellhound turned its head towards the door, and Braden immediatly threw himself in its path. "Amelia! Close it! Now! I can handle one hellhound!"

"But Braden-"

"We have kids in there! Amelia, close that door _right now_!"

Amelia cast one last desperate glance towards Braden, and then shut the door. Braden was wrong, though. It wasn't just one hellhound. As if they had been called by some demonic dog whistle, three more stepped out of the shadows.

Braden cursed in Ancient Greek, and then the hellhounds leaped at him.

I had to admit, he was good. His sword was moving at a speed almost too fast for my eyes to follow, blocking, stabbing, slicing. But four hellhounds was too much for anybody. One of them nipped at his shoulder, and he blocked just a second too late. The hellhound took off his shirt, and he began to bleed.

"Guys!" Dee hissed. "We've got to do something!"

Braden ducked under the claws of one of the hellhounds, then stabbed upwards, his sword plunging into its belly. It gave a small whimper, then vanished into yellow powder.

The other three hellhounds roared angrily and charged him all at once. He leaped backwards and managed to block two of them with the blade of his sword, but the other one left three deep gashes in his leg, and he gasped.

But he took advantage of the hellhound's momentary victory, and before it could rear back, he stabbed it right in the head, and it howled with pain before turning into powder.

"Woah." West whispered. "He just took out two hellhounds singlehandedly."

The other two hellhounds circled him, growls rumbling deep in their throats. One suddenly shot forwards, its fangs bared for Braden's neck. Braden's sword hand snapped up, and the hellhound's teeth screeched horribly against the celestial bronze sword. The hellhound pushed against him, Braden's arms almost being pushed back against his chest.

Braden was so focused on keeping the hellhound from tearing his throat out that he had almost completely forgotten about the one behind him. It crept up, slowly, its mouth stretched into what was almost a grin.

Then, with a look of triumpth in its eyes, the hellhound reared up, opening its jaws wide to sink into Braden's skull.

"No!" I managed. I pulled out Riptide, uncapping it, but it was too late, I would never have enough time.

I watched with horror as the hellhound's teeth flew towards Braden's head, and then, miraculously, the hound slumped to the ground, howling in pain. There was an arrow sticking out of its eye. It wailed, a haunted, painful sound, and then exploded into powder.

I glanced beside me, at Dee. Her bow was in her hand, her eyes fierce and determind. In that instant, I felt complete and utter amazement.

But Braden was still losing his battle with the last remaining hellhound. I might not feel anything positive towards the guy, but I couldn't just let him die. I rushed forwards, Riptide in my hand.

The hellhound barely had time to turn one huge, red eye towards me in astonishment before I buried my sword deep in its back. It howled in agony, and then vanished into powder, blowing away in the wind.

Suddenly, it was much too silent. All I could hear was the sound of heavy breathing. Nico, West and Dee stepped out from behind the crates, but I wasn't looking at them. I was looking at Braden.

His sandy hair was falling into his eyes, blood still dripping out of his shoulder and the wounds on his leg. His face was pale, and to be honest, he didn't look so good. He looked up at me with those golden eyes of his.

"So." He ran a hand through his hair. "You guys followed us."

"Yeah. We did."

He looked down at the ground. "Well, I can't exactly be anything but grateful. You guys saved my life. I'm not someone who can't be reasonable. I owe you."

I paused for a second. "We just want to talk to Annabeth."

He didn't look too happy with that request, but he sighed. "Alright. But if she doesn't want to talk to you, then you're not talking to her. I don't want to force her to talk to people that she wanted to get away from."

Get away from? I glanced at Nico. _What? _I mouthed to him.

He shrugged helplessly.

We followed Braden as he walked up to the door, then did the knock.

The door flew open almost immediately, and Amelia looked relieved. The relief quickly turned to worry as she saw Braden's wounds.

"Braden! What happened?"

Braden shook his head. "There were four of them. They shadow-traveled here."

"Four?!"

"Yeah. I would be dead right now if it weren't for them." He gestured behind him, at us.

Amelia seemed to finally see us there behind Braden, and her eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion. "Aren't these the Long Island kids?"

"They followed us. If they hadn't, I wouldn't be talking to you right now. They just want to talk to Annabeth."

"Annabeth?" Amelia crossed her arms, looking at us. "You want me to quote her? _I never want to see anyone from Camp Half-blood ever again._"

"Amelia." Braden sighed. "They saved my life, okay? If they want to talk to Annabeth, let them talk."

Amelia looked at us again, then shook her head. "Fine. Let them." She held open the door for us to walk in, then turned around and left.

The factory was not what I was expecting. The flourescent lights lit up the room, and people were sitting around, talking, laughing eating. There was ratty furniture here and there, couches and loveseats, and some mattresses laid out on the floor. The walls were decorated with drawings and stickers, and little kids were running around, weaving in and out through the furniture. Through two doors at the back, I could see a training room and a weapons room. It was really a very cheery atmosphere, almost like what Camp Half-blood would be if it was inside an old canned soup factory.

I had no idea what this place was, but in the next second, it didn't matter anymore.

There was a girl, directly across from me, sitting on a mattress.

She had looked up as we walked in, and had started to get up, but when she saw me, she had frozen immediatly, then dropped back onto the mattress like she had been tasered. She was clutching at herself, and her mouth was opening and closing like she couldn't quite figure out what she wanted to say. I saw her hands tighten into fists, as if she wanted to punch somebody.

The recognition I felt was like a slap to the face. A hundred slaps to the face. I knew this girl. I _knew _her. Her beautiful blonde curls, her stormy gray eyes. Her fiery temper, her smarts and pride. I had kissed this girl, I had loved this girl. We had spent endless late nights talking, laughing, and we had even swam under the moonlight together. Nobody knew her better than me. Nobody knew me better than her.

She had once meant everything to me.

I knew, then. I was still a blank page, my memory still a bottomless pit, but there was one thing I knew. I knew _her._

Annabeth.

* * *

**I think I should just call myself the-girl-who-can't-stop-writing-cliffies.**

**Because this.**

**Was the cliffy to end all cliffies. ;)**

**Anyway...okay. So. I have a favor to ask.**

****SHAMELESS ADVERTISING****

**So, a very good friend of mine started a Youtube channel, and made a video, but it's hard to get views when you're just starting, and sooo I decided to help her advertise. ;) If you watch it, it would mean a lot to her, and I'd appreciate it! (Also I might update faster...cough cough) And if you like it maybe suscribe :3**

**btw she will make more videos, so there will possibly be more shameless advertising coming...hehe**

** - Search up DaaaEnd on Youtube and watch her video!-**

****END SHAMELESS ADVERTISING****

**So anyhoo... sorry for the EXTREME CLIFFY(you will only get that if you watch the video, haha), thanks for reading and loving me :3 and don't forget to leave me a review!**

**~BurningAngel**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Ok, so... I'm at 100 reviews! :D Since it's the first time I've reached 100 reviews for any story, I thought I'd do something special-my 111th reviewer(as long as you're not a guest) will get to submit an OC! If you happen to be the 111st reviewer, I'll PM you and let you know, and send you the details and a form for you to fill out. You'll also get a shoutout in the next chapter! :)

This is a somewhat shorter chapter, a little bit of a filler, but not really. I wanted this chapter to pretty much just be the Percy-Annabeth remeeting. Now before you read this, I'm going to warn you- this probably won't be the Percabeth reunion that you were expecting.

~Ashes

* * *

I took a step forwards hesitantly. Annabeth stared at me, taking deep, shuddering breaths.

She started to blink furiously as I walked closer, and it took me a while to realize that her eyes were watering and that she was blinking back tears. I reached out for her, but just as I touched her arm, she stood up, brushing my hand aside.

"Annabeth?" My voice was quiet, uncertain. She winced at the sound of her name, and a single tear spilled out of her eye. She swiped it away and stalked into one of the rooms at the back of the factory. I saw a glimpse of tears running down her face before she slammed the door.

"I don't think she wants to talk to you guys," Braden muttered.

"Can we just give it a shot?" Nico asked. "Just let Chance talk to her for a few minutes."

Braden looked at me for a moment, then sighed. "Alright. But I don't want to overwhelm her. She might seem alright, but she's really fragile. Only Chance, okay?"

Nico looked incredulous. I knew what he was thinking, because I was thinking the same thing. Annabeth Chase, fragile?

"Of course," Dee said.

We followed Braden to the back of the factory, and he knocked on Annabeth's closed door. "Annabeth, is it okay if one of the campers come in to talk to you?"

There was no answer from inside.

"I guess we'll have to take that as a yes." Braden muttered. With a slow exhale, he cracked open the door. "All yours, Chance."

I nodded at him, then looked carefully at the door. It was surprisingly pretty for something in a soup factory, painted with cracking white paint and the edges decorated by small, pink flowers.

"Are you going in or not, Chance?" Braden muttered darkly.

I shot him an of-course look before taking a deep breath and stepping hesitantly inside. The lights were off, the room bathed in darkness. There wasn't much that I could make out but for the single white mattress and Annabeth's hunched shape.

The door closed behind me with a soft _thud _and I stood there awkwardly.

"Uh, hi."

"Perseus Jackson," she whispered. Her voice quivered, something that I somehow knew was not like her at all. "How could you do this to me?"

"What?"

"How could you do this to me?" her voice was louder, steely, almost a scream. It echoed around the room.

"Annabeth, I'm not-"

"We were supposed to be there for each other after the war, Percy. You promised." she stood up and turned to face me, her gray eyes burning in the darkness. She took long strides forward until she was right in front of me.

"I was a wreck. Lost, lonely, haunted. Tartartus-" her voice broke. "It nearly destroyed us. Both of us. We were supposed to heal together, to somehow help each other through the nightmares and the monsters we saw around every corner, in every shadow. But where were you, Percy Jackson?"

"I-"

"Where were you?!" she screamed.

I blinked, surprised, taking a step back.

This was not Annabeth.

Now that I looked closer, beneath her put together facade, I could see the things that I had missed. Her hair was slightly disheveled and tangled, frayed and escaping out of her braid. There were dark circles under her red-rimmed eyes, and her skin was pale. But what hit me the hardest was her eyes. Those beautiful gray eyes that I knew used to shine so brightly. They were lost, empty, and filled with a haunting that I couldn't even begin to imagine.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth, but I'm not-"

"You're sorry?" She laughed harshly. "_Sorry? _You think one word's going to make everything better? You ripped my heart out when you died, Percy. I was living in a dream, barely making it from one day to the next. I wanted to die, but you had sacrificed yourself for me, and I wasn't going to waste your life. So I lived. If you could even call it that."

She shook her head, a sad half-smile on her face. "The horrors from Tartartus- they chased me everywhere. You don't know how many times I woke up in the middle of the night, crying and screaming your name. All the new campers thought I was insane. We were supposed to be insane together. We were supposed to hold each other together."

"I can understand why you're upset," I held up my hands defensively. "But I'm-"

"Understand," Annabeth mused. "Such an interesting word, don't you think? Understand- to perceive the significance, explanation, or cause of something. You might think you understand, Percy, but you don't."

"No, I-"

"Do you want to know why I left camp? Well, I'll tell you. I couldn't stand it. I couldn't stand seeing you everywhere anymore. I took my shattered heart and left, trying to find somewhere else. So here I am today, doing my best to somehow find myself again."

I opened my mouth to once again attempt to tell her that I wasn't Percy, but she had turned around, away from me.

"And just as I was beginning to heal, to pick up the pieces of myself, here you are again. Oh, but don't get me wrong. I love you. I've always loved you, and I still do, even though I would be much better off if I didn't."

"But-"

"When I first saw you come through the factory door, all I wanted to do was throw myself into your arms, because you're what I need to fix myself. All this time trying to forget you, and now you're right in front of me. Sometimes I even wished we had died, you know? The both of us, because then at least we could've been in Elysium together. I've convinced myself that all I had to do was live, live out my life, and then I could see you again, even if we would both be dead. But you know what? You look fine. Perfectly fine and dandy. Not dead at all. Not even a hair out a place. And look at me!" She gestured wildly to herself.

"So explain that to me, Perseus Jackson." she jabbed a single finger at me. "Explain why _you _are perfectly fine. Explain why your eyes are still bright and alive. Explain why even after Tartartus, you still are yourself. All this time that I've been waiting for you to fix me, for us to piece each other back together, counting on you to be the only one who could understand and pull me out of the horrors that we've been through together, You've. Been. Perfectly. _Fine." _

She slumped down, all of her previous energy and defiance seeming to drain out of her. "Without me."

I was silent for a moment. "Annabeth, I have a perfectly logical explaination."

She glanced up at me. "I'd like to hear it."

"I'm not Percy Jackson."

I quickly continued on, seeing the look on her face. "No, I'm serious. I'm sorry for whatever happened between you two, but I'm Chance Johnson. I'm also a son of Poseidon. And believe me, you're one of like, a million people who have mistaken me for Percy."

Annabeth stared at me, looking completely lost.

For the first time since I'd heard about him, I felt some sympathy towards Percy, whoever he had been. I had thought, judging by everyone's reaction to me, that he was one of those guys who had everyone fawning over him and everything handed to him on a silver platter. Hearing what Annabeth said though, with all the stuff about Tartartus and horrors and fixing each other, maybe he hadn't had such an easy life after all.

"You're kidding." Her lips barely moved.

I shook my head. "No, I'm not."

Annabeth kept her eyes on me for another fraction of a second, and then burst out laughing.

I jumped, startled.

The laughter sounded like it was clawing its way out of her, forced, too loud, edged with hysteria. She shook her head, more tears falling down her face. It was odd, because she was still laughing loudly, her body shaking and convulsing.

"Uh, Annabeth...?" I ventured, unsure. Part of me wanted to hug her to me and comfort her, but the other part of me wondered if she had lost her mind.

"I'm fine," she snapped, although she was clearly not. She laughed again, a quick, bitter sound. "Fine. Just fine. I'm always fine, aren't I? Always fine..."

"Do you, uh, maybe want me to get Braden in here?"

"No. It's not Braden I want." Annabeth stopped laughing, and she looked up at me, her cheeks covered with tears and her eyes empty.

"You do look exactly like him, you know. Down to those eyes of yours. I've tried to heal. Really. I've really tried so hard to be happy, to be happy with what I have. But I can't. I can't be happy without him. I know I was mad before, but that wasn't anger. I just couldn't believe-" she took a deep breath. "I couldn't believe that after all these years, he'd come back to me, somehow. Sure, it looked like you-him, whatever- hadn't missed me at all, and maybe I was a bit upset, but I'd do anything, _anything _to have him back. I was yelling at you, but inside, I was-I was so, so happy."

"I'm sorry," I said quietly.

Annabeth smiled weakly. "I'm sorry too, for creeping you out. I guess, well, I haven't been the same, ever since Tartartus. I managed to hold it together when I had Percy, but then-"

"Yeah. I know."

"And the laughing- I'm sorry about that too. I just- I thought I finally had him again. I was whole, even if it was just for that second. When you told me that you weren't him- it was like getting my heart ripped out all over again, like some sort of sick joke, because I was so close, you know? So close to being happy and myself again. It hurts right now, just looking at you, because you look so much like him."

"I'm sorry." I didn't know what else to say. It wasn't the first time that I wished I could take my face and replace it with a different one.

"I-" Annabeth choked on the word. It was like something in her snapped, and then she was crying in my arms, sobs raking out of her and her salty tears staining my camp t-shirt.

"I miss him. So much. I'm sorry- sorry for dating Braden, but that's only because he was what I needed at the time. He's stable, secure, a leader. Someone who could keep me together. We were friends, just friends, but how could I say no when he asked me to date him? He's so much like Percy. The same undying loyalty and sarcastic humor, and sometimes, he's even just as dense. He's keeping the pieces of me together, but just barely. Only Percy- only Percy can make me whole again. And he's-he's gone."

I just stood there, holding her, letting her cry herself out, my arms wrapped tightly around her.

There was something inside of me- a coldness. It had always been there, but it had been covered up by the same thing that covered up my memories. When Annabeth had mentioned Tartartus, that thing seemed to have awakened. It grew, wrapping its icy claws around me slowly. And now- now there were shadows in my head, shadows of things that made me want to scream and cover my ears and run away.

Shadows of things that for the first time, made me want my memories to stay hidden.

_Tartartus. _The word echoed in my head, and I somehow remembered darkness and coldness. Things in there that shattered you into pieces and left you empty and frozen inside.

I had been there before.

Who had I been?

And what had I been doing in Tartartus?

* * *

"How did it go?" Nico opened the door for me, eyeing my tear-stained shirt as I stepped out.

I grimaced. "She thought I was Percy Jackson... man, that guy has been through some horrible stuff."

Nico's dark eyes were unreadable as he nodded. "Yeah. He has."

"Are you happy now?" Braden sighed. "Sounded like she was pretty broken up. She really misses that Percy Jackson guy. She tries to deny it, but she's always muttering his name in her sleep. Sometimes- sometimes it makes me wonder if I'm doing the right thing by dating her. What if- what if she can't be healed?"

"I can honestly say that I don't know."

Braden exhaled slowly. "So, what now? Are you guys going back to Camp Half-blood?"

I glanced at Nico uncertainly.

"No," he said. "We kind of...need to stay here for a little bit. Is that okay with you?"

Braden eyes tightened. "How long?"

"A week. At most."

There was a moment of silence. "On one condition," Braden finally said.

"What condition?"

"You can't mention us to anyone else from your camp."

"What?" West asked, incredulous. "But that's-"

"Alright," Nico interrupted. "We won't."

Braden gave a short chuckle. "I'm not stupid, son of Hades. Swear it."

"Nico, you have to think this through," Dee said. "Swearing an oath- that's a big deal. We won't be able to tell Chiron or anyone about this place, whatever it is."

Nico paused. He seemed to think for a moment, his eyes boring into me, and then I saw the decision being made on his face. "I swear-"

"Nico, are you sure about this?" Dee asked, worried.

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure."

Dee still looked slightly anxious, but she bit her lip, trusting Nico.

"I swear on the river Styx that neither me nor anyone else here will mention anything about you guys to anyone from camp. That is, unless you allow us to, of course."

Thunder rumbled somewhere above our heads, sealing the oath. Braden remained stiff for another second, and then visibly relaxed as the thunder faded into the distance.

"Well, I guess you guys can stay here for a week, then," Braden said. "You can just hang out, claim a sleeping spot, talk to some people, whatever. All of us over twelve are going to be coming and going throughout the days- but that's none of your business. I can promise you food and that nobody is going to kick you out without my permission, but I can't promise that you're going to be full or that people are going to be nice to you. Are we clear?"

We all nodded.

"Good. And make sure you don't go sticking your noses where they don't belong." Braden gave us one last parting glance, and then walked off to talk to some kids sitting on a worn-out sofa.

The four of us stood in silence for a few minutes.

"So," West muttered. "What's your plan, Nico? You must have one if you agreed to swear a freaking _oath_."

"We have to convince them to agree to let us tell Camp about them."

West raised an eyebrow. "That's it? Wow, what a plan."

"But it's not impossible," I said. "I think we can do it."

"We'll take our time," Nico explained. "Don't shove it on them all at once, mention it maybe a bit at a time, talk a bit about the upcoming war with Kronos and Gaea both rising and all that. If they really are half-bloods, then that should make them pretty worried. I mean, this factory is secure enough, but I don't think it would do too good against a whole army."

"Yes, that's true," Dee said.

"But if they _aren't_ half-bloods..." West muttered.

"I think they are." I glanced through the door to the weapon room. "They see the monsters, they know about the gods, they have celestial bronze and imperial gold weapons..."

"Then why aren't they at Camp Half-blood?" West questioned.

"No idea," I admitted.

"Well, that's another thing we'll have to find out," Nico muttered.

Dee let out a sigh. "So we have a week."

"Yeah." Nico glanced around the factory. "One week to find out what this place is and talk them into letting us tell camp about them."

"And most importantly," I mumured, "we have to convince Annabeth to come back to Camp Half-blood with us."


End file.
